Slowly Losing You
by Kathryn Hart
Summary: AU Nine never regenerated on the Game Station. Now he and Rose continue to travel together, their unspoken feelings growing stronger with each passing day. But lately Rose has been acting strangely and refuses to tell her best friend why. When her life is in danger, with Jack's help he must embark on a series of life-threatening missions to save her. xXCOMPLETEXx
1. Book Covers

**Title: Slowly Losing You**_  
_

**Characters: Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler, Jack Harkness, Jackie Tyler, others  
**

**Summary: AU. The Doctor never regenerated on the Game Station, and now he and Rose have continued traveling through time and space, their unspoken feelings growing stronger with each passing adventure. But lately Rose has been acting strange, and refuses to tell her best friend why. When her life is in danger, the Doctor with Jack's help must embark on a series of highly dangerous missions to save her.  
**

**Genre: Romance/Action/Drama/Friendship  
**

**Rated: T for minor violence, sensuality and other thematic elements.  
**

**A/N: Welcome to Slowly Losing You! I'm very very proud of this story, it took me over a year and a half to write. The chapters will be shorter, but since I've finished it already, there will be fast updates (about one chapter every other day). Nine and Rose are my favorites, so I hope you enjoy reading them as I much as I did writing them xD Title inspiration is from Skillet's song "Comatose".  
**

* * *

_"Slowly Losing You"  
_

_By Kathryn Hart_

_I hate feeling like this,  
I'm so tired of trying to fight this.  
I'm asleep and all I dream of  
Is waking to you!_

_Tell me that you will listen,_  
_Your touch is what I'm missing._  
_And the more I hide I realize_  
_**I'm slowly losing you!**_

_Comatose..._  
_I'll never wake up without  
an overdose of you!  
~Skillet_

Chapter 1: Book Covers

"Yowch!" Rose winced as a stream of curses poured out from under the TARDIS console.

"If it weren't for those rotten Kalahaxi officials placing landing barriers everywhere, I wouldn't have had a need to fix this hunk a junk!" The console sparked angrily at his insult. The Doctor crawled out, rubbing his head frustratingly.

"Sorry old girl." He rubbed the console lovingly. Rose raised her eyebrows. Stranger still, the TARDIS seemed to purr to his touch.

The Doctor quickly removed his hand when he spied Rose sitting on the Captain's chair, trying not to laugh.

"Do you two need some privacy?" Her feet were resting on the console. The Doctor knocked her feet down and they fell to the floor.

"Very funny. Don't put your feet on the console. The TARDIS doesn't like it." His Northern accent was more apparent than usual.

"Apparently she doesn't like being called a _'hunk a junk'_ either. Besides, the TARDIS loves me." Rose grinned and put her feet back up. The TARDIS purred her agreement.

"Hmm. I guess she does." The Doctor muttered, staring at the rotor. Shaking his head, he began throwing levers and pressing buttons, and immediately Rose stood up.

"So, we all set then?"

"Yep, the TARDIS is working under _fantastic_ conditions once again."

"Y'know, I think you're addicted to that word."

"What? No I'm not!"

"I bet you couldn't go without saying it once on our next adventure."

"Oh, Rose Tyler, you're on!" He grinned at her as the TARDIS shook in flight.

"It's set to random. Hang on Rose!" Nevertheless, on the last final bump, Rose tumbled to the floor, laughing.

"Oh...that never gets old." She said as the Doctor hauled her up.

"Any random time, any planet could be out there." He walked Rose to the door. As he opened it, he challenged her.

"Go on, let's see how much you've learned." Rose squinted in the bright sunlight as she stepped out.

"Earth." was the first thing she said. The Doctor, who was still inside, stuck his head out in annoyed surprise.

"What? Any random planet in the universe and you choose Earth, _again?"_ He frowned as he spoke to the TARDIS. "Well, apparently you're right Rose. What else?"

"Umm, Germany...I'd say around 1910." The Doctor was impressed. He stepped out the door next to her.

"Very good. You're close. It's actually Germany in 1908."

"How can you know the exact year it is right now, but you couldn't warn me when you brought me home a year late?"

The Doctor turned and mock-glared at her. She just threw him her signature cheeky smile, the one with her tongue poking out between her teeth. The one that nearly made the Doctor's hearts stop.

"And that," He said, turning and refusing to acknowledge her question. "is the German Academy of Fine Arts." He pointed at a rather large building directly behind the TARDIS.

"Look." Rose said, gazing at the entry way. A young man about 18 years old stormed out the entrance, carrying a canvas. On the third step he stopped. Not noticing the time travelers watching him, he gazed at the canvas and ran his fingers down one side fondly. Then his eyes turned hard, and he threw the canvas onto the ground and took off without looking back.

Once he was gone Rose came over to the canvas and picked it up.

"It's a painting. It's beautiful." It truly was, a snow covered lightly populated street was depicted, obviously painted with great care and love.

"Wow...it's..." The Doctor struggled to find the right word. "Oh, there's no other word for it, it's _fantastic_."

"It really is." Rose was so entranced in the painting she didn't even notice him fail her challenge .

"Look here, there's the initials: _AH_. What does it stand for?" The Doctor realised it before Rose did.

"Rose think. 1908, Germany, _AH_...?" He waited for her to catch on. Suddenly and gradually her face turned to one of shock.

"No, you don't mean...?"

"Yes."

_"Adolf Hitler?" _The Doctor nodded. Rose nearly dropped the canvas, her breath catching in her throat.

"But...this is beautiful, how could...?"

"Even the evillest of creatures can create something gorgeous with a few simple tools."

"But that was just a boy, younger than I am. How could he turn into one of the worst dictators this world has ever known?"

"Well, so far I've made it a point never to meet him, but I do know what happened." He pointed to the building.

"All his life, Hitler believed he was a failure. His art was rejected, just minutes ago apparently, by men who said his work had no imagination or creativity." He paused for a moment, letting it sink in Rose's brain. "He tried and again failed to be an architect. He also failed to enlist in the army because of his health. Long story short, one of his only successes in life was his worst: the one of Germany's most evil dictator." He frowned. "And all because of a few blind art critics." Rose gripped the canvas tighter, her brow furrowing in righteous anger. She turned around and started walking up the steps towards the Fine Arts Academy.

"Well, then we need to show them just how good he is, how great his art is. We can change all this." The Doctor sped up after her and blocked her path forward.

"Rose, no, you can't!"

"But, we have to-"

"No!" He stopped her sharply. "You remember what happens when you try to change history?" Rose clenched her jaw as images of Reapers flashed in her mind. But even that didn't daunt her.

"Doctor, think of all the lives that could be saved, the broken hearts renewed, the British allies-" The Doctor held her shoulders, knowing he had to try a different tactic to make her understand. Especially when he saw tears forming in her sad brown eyes.

"My great grandfather died in World War two." She whimpered, the expression on her face nearly making the Doctor's heart break.

"Rose, remember Nancy, the children? The people in the hospital?" Rose nodded. "We never would have met them and made a difference in their lives." Rose sniffed, still looking unswayed at the thought of thousands of lives destroyed by the war. But the Doctor had one last thing to lay on the table.

"Remember Jack? We never would've met him." The Doctor was rewarded by the look of utter defeat in her eyes. She clutched the painting closer to her, unwilling to leave but knowing that it was the right thing to do.

"Come on." He gripped Rose's shoulder and guided her back to the TARDIS, hugging her close to his side. She leaned her head on his shoulder as two lonely tears made their way down her cheek and silently splashed to the ground.

* * *

**I know it's not going to seem very exciting for the first couple chapters, I'm starting out with some fluff and gradually working up to the main plot. **

**I wrote a paper on Adolf Hitler, and it won first place in my town's newspaper contest. So all the information is correct, the parts with the Doctor and Rose are merely this artist's rendition.  
**

**Next: The Doctor takes Rose somewhere special to make it up to her, and there she finds something interesting that could completely change her relationship with him.  
**

**Please review, next chapter hopefully on Thursday! Happy 4th! :D  
**

**~BAD WOLF~  
**


	2. The Love Potion Incident

**Someone asked me what the point of the first chapter was, why they met Hitler but didn't do anything about it. Well the answer is that there wasn't. The first couple chapters are just ideas/one shots that were floating around in my head. Not only is it fluff(the good kind), it also establishes the dynamic between Doc and Rose. The plot doesn't seem apparent right now but I promise you I'm getting there :) **

**I'm deviating from the episodes in series 2 and instead going a completely different route. Don't worry there's a reason for that. Longer chapter today :D  
**

* * *

Chapter 2: The Love Potion Incident

_"Come on." The Doctor gripped Rose's shoulder and guided her back to the TARDIS, hugging her closer to his side. She leaned her head on his shoulder as two lonely tears made their way down her cheek and silently splashed to the ground._

Rose set the beautiful painting down on the floor next to the console.

"It'll remind me never to judge a book by its' cover again." The Doctor noticed how down she was about the whole experience. Suddenly he had a bright idea.

"I know what will cheer you up!" He exclaimed as he set the coordinates. "How'd you like to visit the largest outdoor shopping center on this side of the galaxy?" He was well aware of her weak spot for shopping. Rose straightened up, gaining a little sparkle in her eye at the thought.

"Really? That'd be_ fantastic!"_

"Ha ha! That's my Rose!" He flew the final lever, grinning at her. "And we're off!"

* * *

"The planet Melodroria, most famous for it's shopping center nearly fifteen miles long." Rose's eyes were wide with amazement and wonder as people from thousands of different cultures and planets bustled by them.

"This is wonderful Doctor. Thank you!" She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly, nearly knocking him over.

"Woah!" He laughed. "Anything for my Rose." As she let go of him he pointed to their right.

"Okay, let's start this way." He started walking but Rose stopped him.

"No way, we need to split up."

"Why on Earth, or should I say Melodroria, why?"

"Because," Rose shook her head dramatically. "It's almost our first year anniversary of the day I started traveling with you, and I need to get you something, without you looking over my shoulder."

"Really? It's been almost a year? Blimey time flies, are you sure?"

"It's hard to keep track of time in the TARDIS, but I think I got it right."

"Okay, for your sake then, I'll go to the right, you go to the left. Meet back here in two hours?"

"Two hours. Got it." Rose waved goodbye to him as she headed down one of the endless aisles of merchandise. Taking a glance back, she saw the Doctor pull out his sonic screwdriver and dash off, probably towards something unusual that caught his attention.

"The Doctor never knows how to have any peaceful enjoyment." She muttered to herself. "Well, he's not going to ruin this fun day of relaxation for me."

* * *

She saw many, wondrous, alien things in her time alone at the shopping center. One green-skinned woman asked her to stop at her booth.

"Any shape, any design, made into a pin, key chain, necklace, or a charm bracelet." Her voice was nasally, but Rose was impressed. "What's your name honey?"

"Rose. Can I see the charm bracelet?"

"You from Earth?"

"Yeah. How'd you..." But the woman stuck her head under the desk and under one minute, pulled out a charm bracelet with one little charm dangling from it: an intricate design of a rose from Earth.

"It's beautiful." She smiled as she put the charm bracelet on.

"I'll take it." The woman grinned, loving to make a sale. Rose handed her some money the Doctor had given her and started to walk away. But then she stopped, remembering her mission.

"Can I see some of your other designs?" the woman pulled a giant book out and Rose began flipping through it.

"...Yes, that one will be perfect, can I get it as a pin?" Within a minute, the pin was sitting in her hand.

_"I hope he likes this, it's so hard shopping for a man who has the universe at his fingertips." _She thought as she placed the pin in her jacket pocket.

"Oh, miss?" Rose turned back around to the woman. "Another charm for your bracelet...this one's free." Rose smiled at her.

"Thanks." She said, taking the charm from the woman's hand.

As she walked off she looked down at the free charm in her hand. Immediately she stopped, her jaw dropping. She furrowed her eyebrows, her eyes widening in shock.

It was a gold charm depicting a howling wolf.

_ BAD WOLF_

* * *

Pleased with her purchase, Rose decided to browse around, maybe for another gift, until it was time to meet back with the Doctor.

But one particular booth caught her eye. It was a table lined with potions of different colors. The sign across the top said. "Love Potions." Rose tilted her head slightly in curiosity.

A woman with spots on the sides of her face handed her a pamphlet from behind the counter. Rose read it and took note of the different shades of potions.

**_Amber Potion of Curiosity:_**

_Problem: Does the one you're interested in never even glance your way? Tired of being unnoticed in a crowd?_

_Solution: Amber Potion of Curiosity._

_Apply to: Self in small doses if trying to attract one individual. Use in large doses for being noticed in a crowd._

**_Sapphire Potion of Attraction:_**

_Problem: Does the one you love notice you, but has never entertained the thought of seeing you as more than just a friend?_

_Solution: Sapphire Potion of Attraction_

_Will Induce: Kisses on the neck or lips, touching of the hair, cuddling and other romantic gestures._

_Apply to: Significant other._

_Warning: Will not induce extreme sexual actions._

**_Scarlet Potion of Passion:_**

_Problem: Do you wish for sexual involvement with your partner, but either you or your partner is never in the mood?_

_Solution: Scarlet Potion of Passion_

_Works well for: Marriages that have seen to lost that 'magic' and perfect for creating a night newlyweds will remember for years to come._

_Apply to: Both self and significant other._

_Warning: Will induce full-blown sexual attraction. May take 1-3 hours for effects to apply fully._

**_Frosted White Potion of Proposal:_**

_Problem: Does your ring finger ache with emptiness? Ready to settle down but he/she just won't propose?_

_Solution: Frosted White Potion of Proposal_

_Apply to: Significant other._

_Warning : Will take 12-24 hours for effects to take over, to add to the spontaneity and surprise._

**_Midnight Black Potion of Break-Up:_**

_Problem: Have you fallen "out of love" with your girlfriend/boyfriend and wish to break it off? Or having a hard time coping with a recent break-up?_

_Solution: Midnight Black Potion of Break-Up._

_How it works: Instantly dissolves feelings for the partner, nullifying the relationship._

_Apply to: Significant other for inducing a break-up, self if needing to get over someone who broke up with you, or both if the relationship is not working out._

_Warning: Effects can only be fully reversed by Scarlet Potion of Passion._

* * *

To say Rose was intrigued was an understatement.

"Well, there's no harm in trying it out. After all, I've been with him for nearly a year and we still haven't gotten anywhere." She read through the list one last time, mentally crossing certain ones off.

"Don't need Amber, he already notices me, definitely not Frosted White or Black Midnight." But her hand strayed between Sapphire and Scarlet. She would be lying through her teeth if she didn't admit fantasizing about what _Scarlet Potion of Passion_ could bring about.

She couldn't make up her mind. Her hand kept moving between the two potions.

Finally, on a whim she snatched up Sapphire, paid the spotted woman, and sped away from the booth with her purchase before she had a chance to change her mind.

* * *

Amazingly, the Doctor was there waiting for her at the appointed time.

"So...find anything exciting?" Rose asked noticing his empty hands. The Doctor grinned.

"Yeah, I uncovered a secret alien drug ring and busted them in less than thirty minutes."

"Wow, I'm sorry I missed it."

"Well, it looks like you accomplished a lot in two hours as well." He motioned towards her bag. She shyly tried to hide it behind her leg, hoping the bag would not belay its' contents.

"...Yeah, I did." She tried not to seem disappointed in the fact that the Doctor seemed to place drug busts over their "anniversary", apparent by the emptiness of his hands.

_"Well, no matter, he's probably just not used to companions staying for this long."_ she thought, hoping she was right. _"And even if he won't remember it, I'll still give him my gift."_ She smiled at the Doctor as he opened the TARDIS doors for her.

* * *

"We should just fly in the vortex for a bit, give you a chance to relax after that hard-core shopping you did." Rose was ecstatic yet fearful of the perfect opening he unwittingly gave her to test her newly acquired "Love Potion".

She stood there, awkwardly off to the side, watching as the Doctor maintained the TARDIS' flight.

"Need something?" He asked, glancing towards her for a moment. Rose shook out of her nervous stupor and half-smiled, her insides turning to jelly as she fingered the glass bottle behind her back.

"Uhh...no I'm good, thanks."

_"It's now or never, now or-"_ She sprayed a large dose of it towards the Doctor's face. Amazingly, the potion contained never made a sound as it was ejected, nor did it have any sight or odor to it in the air.

But that didn't stop the Doctor from noticing it. He stopped what he was doing and stole a small glance at Rose. She was standing behind him with an expectant look on her face.

Immediately the Doctor straightened up. He turned around to face her, throwing her a sly smile.

* * *

Rose's eyes widened in shock. The potion actually seemed to be working! Not that she had ever doubted it, but never in the year she had known him had she dared to imagine the things he was doing right now!

The Doctor held her close and twirled his finger slowly in her blond locks. His eyes fantastically alluring, and when he spoke, Rose's heart quickened at his seductive tone.

"Y'know," He whispered softly in her ear. "I failed to notice how nice you looked today, how nice you smell, _Rose_." She shivered as he whispered her name enticingly.

"Oh, and one more thing." he continued whispering. He leaned in closer, as if he was about to tell her his greatest secret. Rose stopped breathing in anticipation as his breath warmed her ear.

"You should have bought the Scarlet Potion, it's the only one I'm not immune to." He quickly but passionately kissed her on the lips, his fingers barely touching her cheeks. After he let go, he departed further into the TARDIS, chuckling the whole way.

Rose stood there with the taste of his lips still on hers. Her eyes were as big as saucers, her mouth nearly fell to the floor and she began blushing furiously, before she grinned and felt like she was floating away.

He may have tricked her, but at least she got a kiss out of it.

* * *

**Hahaha! Le Gasp! Nine/Rose is sooo cute! xD**

**Next: The Doctor needs to think on this turn of events and how to deal with what's happened. So what does he do? Find out on Saturday! :D  
**


	3. The First Date

**PROMO PHOTO: rosebadwolftyler. deviantart . c o m #/d56e0x4 (without the spaces of course :D)  
**

**Thanks for all the positive feedback! It makes me feel so happy xD  
**

**Ugh I meant to mention this before, someone asked me what exactly happened on the Game Station, since Nine obviously didn't regenerate. Don't worry, it will all be explained in a few chapters. I poke a bit at Nine in this chapter and the next, I can't help it, he's so fun to tease! And admit it, we didn't get enough in the show ;) Warning, this is probably the fluffiest chapter in the story, and a bit of added romance(SQUEE). But at the end of the chapter we get some action!(finally!)  
**

* * *

Chapter 3 – The First Date

Two hours after the "Love Potion Incident" found Rose in the library, quietly reading a book.

"Rose!" The Doctor called from outside the room, looking for her. Rose didn't even lift her head up.

"Rose?" The Doctor peeked his head inside the library and spotted her. She had her back towards him, sitting in one of the enormous chairs facing the fireplace on the far side of the wall. The Doctor smiled. "Rose." He said again, a little softer. But still she didn't move. _"Strange."_ The Doctor thought as he came inside the library. He placed a hand on her bare shoulder and she jumped, obviously startled.

"Rose, didn't you hear me calling you?" Rose stood up suddenly, wincing as the book thudded to the floor.

"I'm sorry, I must've been too occupied with my book to hear you." The Doctor wanted to believe her, but he had this nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something else was going on. To distract himself, he bent over and picked up the book she was reading.

"_The Hunger Games_? Where did you get this?" He knew it didn't come from his library.

"On Melodroria. One of the most popular Earth books from the 21st Century. Not due to come out for another six years in my time. They even made it into a movie."

"Any good?" He flipped through it once.

"So far, yeah." They both were quiet. "Did you need something?" Rose said innocently, and the Doctor remembered the reason he came in here.

"Umm, yeah." He set Rose's book back down on the chair. Suddenly his mind turned blank. _"You fool, tell her!"_

"I figured, well, pretty much our emotions were clear when..._that_ happened, so I thought I'd..." He turned his gaze away from her guiltily.

"Yeah?" Rose felt hope creeping up in her heart.

"I thought I'd ask you out on a real first date." He blurted out before he could stop himself. Rose came closer and stood in front of him, her eyes searching his face for any kind of sign that he was merely teasing her. His breath hitched in anticipation. Finally she grinned.

"Okay." The Doctor's hearts leapt in joy. He stuck out his arm and Rose wrapped her own arm around his, and together they strolled back to the console room.

* * *

"So, where are we going to go for our real first date?" The Doctor shook his head at Rose's question.

"Nuh uh, you'll have to find out for yourself." Rose scowled.

"Aw, can't you at least give me a hint then? Blimey you're always so secretive."

"Well...let me just say that the roses in France are lovely this time of year."

"What? You're taking me to-" She was cut off as the TARDIS suddenly took off flying through the vortex.

* * *

After the TARDIS had landed, Rose immediately ran for the door, completely forgetting about changing her clothes.

"We're going to France we're-AUGH!" The Doctor rushed out the door when he heard her shout. To his dismay he stopped out into a deluge.

"Urgh!" Rose yelled at him. "Twenty seconds and I'm already soaking wet! Our first date to Paris and it's raining!" She stopped, realizing what she just said.

"Paris." She whispered in awe, turning to look out at their surroundings. And it truly was just as beautiful as she had heard, despite the rain. "I've always wanted to go to Paris." But she frowned as she continued to get more and more wet.

"But it's still your fault that my hair is drenched!" The Doctor glanced at her and saw that look on her face. With a silly sparkle in his eye, he took off running at the same moment Rose began to chase him.

* * *

Rose's sneakers slapped against the wet pavement as she ran after the Doctor. As soon as they came to a grassy clearing Rose finally caught up with him. She jumped on his back and they tumbled to the ground, both laughing hysterically.

"Tackle me will you?" The Doctor began tickling her as a father would to his daughter.

"No, no, please stop, ha ha ha!" She fought his hands off but still he persisted.

"Truce, truce!" Rose cried, her sides hurting from laughter and his fingers tickling her sides. The Doctor finally released her. He collapsed on his back next to her, letting the raindrops fall directly on his face. Rose sat up, flicking water at him and groaning at the mud and grass stains on her shirt.

"This blouse is completely ruined now, you know that?" She grumbled but was unable to keep the smile off her face. The Doctor stared at her for a moment. Her wet hair was plastered to her head and a rather large streak of mud ran across her cheek. Her eyes were shining in pure joy and mock anger. Making a quick decision, he sat up so their noses were inches from each other.

"I still think you're gorgeous." The Doctor whispered as he kissed her, gently and sweetly. The Doctor cupped his hands around her face as his tongue gently asked permission, which Rose granted willingly, turning their kiss into a more passionate one. Rose sighed into his mouth, only intensifying his feelings.

As they slowly and reluctantly released each other, they both smiled with no regret. For the first time in a long time, the Doctor felt warm, content, and other things he couldn't define. He stood up, pulling Rose along with him.

"Come on, let's go back to the TARDIS and do this one right."

* * *

This time, Rose came out in a shimmering blue silk dress that fell to her knees, complete with a white dress jacket, and the Doctor – for the first time she had ever known him – had changed out of his jumper and leather jacket.

"That suit looks good on you." Rose said as she helped him adjust his tie.

"Grr...can't abide the stuff. I was always too fancy in my younger days, flaunting around like I owned the place." He scowled as he tugged on his tie. Rose pushed his hands away playfully as she continued to fix it.

"Hey, how do you know how to do a tie?" He asked her as she stepped back to view her work.

"Mickey. He was always rubbish at formal parties." She stepped closer and made one last adjustment.

"Of course Ricky would be. Time Lords are impeccable at parties." Rose couldn't help but chuckle at his statement which not only insulted Mickey but also praised his own race.

"Of course they are." Rose agreed, smirking, not wanting to remind him of the fact that she had done his own tie.

* * *

As soon as they were ready, the Doctor brought out a TARDIS blue umbrella out from the closet.

"Perfect! That should come in handy."

"Escort me, malady?"

"My pleasure." And with that their first date had just begun.

But as they stepped outside, both were blissfully unaware of the tall, dark figure watching them from the shadows with an evil scowl on his face.

* * *

Rose was grateful for the umbrella keeping the persistent raindrops off her face as they strolled through the empty streets of France.

"How about this one?" She asked, pointing to a building they were coming up to. The sign had French words all over it, which Rose could just barely translate from her early studies in language.

"Looks safe enough." The Doctor replied, venturing to open the door to the fancy restaurant.

"Wait." Rose objected, realising something as she walked through the door that he held open for her. "Doesn't the TARDIS translate everything inside my head? I should have been able to read that sign in English."

"Well, yes. I turned the translation circuits off on the TARDIS to give it a more realistic feel." He explained as he guided his date over to a small table in the corner of the room by the front window.

"Ah." Rose said, smiling and nodding her head in slight amusement. "So, what language do you speak when her translation circuits are on? Do you always speak Gallifreyan, and I'm just hearing English?"

"No, of course not. I know how to speak English."

"You could just be lazy."

"No, believe me, Gallifreyan's a lot harder to speak than English."

"Teach it to me sometime?" She smiled at him.

"If you're willing." He grinned back.

After they were situated, a waiter with a thin mustache came up to them, handed them a pair of menus, and splurted a long strand of French words.

"Now I kinda wish you had left the translation circuits on. I can't remember much from my classes in school." She remarked, frowning at the menu as the waiter left their table.

"That's alright, I think I know enough for the both of us." He replied nonchalantly, merely glancing at his own menu.

"Oh please." Rose said, laying her menu down and leaning closer to him. "Since when do you ever have a chance to interact with other alien dialects, not to mention Earth ones? The TARDIS does the work for you." At that the Doctor also set his menu down an leaned towards her in like manner.

"I'll have you know Rose Tyler, that I am fluent in over 200 forms of communication, French, English, Italian, German, you name it, as well as many alien dialects, not to mention Klingon as well."

"You're lying about the last one." Rose said, laughing.

"Have I ever given you any reason not to trust me?" He said, giving her his most hurtful expression.

"Yes." Rose stated, still laughing.

"I'm the one who should be having trouble trusting you." The Doctor retorted. "What with tricking me with the potion and all."

"Tricking you?" Rose repeated incredulously. "You're the one who tricked me! Leading me on and making me think it was actually working!"

"Well if I hadn't we wouldn't be here now would we?" Rose's glare softened and she smiled.

"Yeah, you're right. But I still don't believe you know Klingon." The Doctor mock scowled at her but it just made her laugh harder. After a few seconds he felt himself laughing with her.

As they quieted down he shifted his gaze to the window looking outside, where the rain was still falling in buckets. Just as his mind began to drift the waiter returned.

He said a sentence in French that Rose translated as him wanting their order. She was about to reply in her broken French when the Doctor interrupted her, spouting a phrase that made both her and the waiter look at him in confusion.

"What?" The Doctor said, annoyed. Rose leaned over and whispered.

"I think you just ordered two pink penguins and a dancing danish." She turned to the waiter and ordered two crepes, saving the day. The Doctor tried not to look embarrassed as he leaned back in his chair.

"Alright, so I guess I don't know as much French as I thought I did."

"I guess so." Rose replied, trying not to smirk.

The light outside began to fade fast, and soon the city was drenched not only in water but in darkness as well. The streetlights barely lit up the awe-inspiring scene out the restaurant windows.

Halfway through her meal Rose took a moment to remember and take in all of her surroundings: the warm atmosphere of the French Restaurant in Paris, the sound of the raindrops slowly falling to the ground right outside the window, the classy people lingering about inside, the delicious flavorful taste of the warm authentic crepes inside her mouth, the Doctor sitting across the table from her in a suit and tie, compete with a content look on his face, the way his kiss felt in the rain...

She took a deep breath in and smiled.

But just as she was about to say something, the lights in the restaurant suddenly shut off, sending the entire city into pitch black darkness.

* * *

**My original plan was to stop the chapter after the 'tall dark man in the shadows' sentence, but I realised it made this chapter way too short, and the next one too long. So I made them a little more equal, hope you don't mind! :D So now we have Rose's first strange occurrence(a hint at the plot), a first 'real kiss' that the Doctor didn't trick her into, a mysterious man, and a cliffhanger!**

_**Next: The Doctor and Rose investigate what went wrong**_**(because how could a date never go wrong for them?**_**), and discover the identity of the 'menacing stranger'.**_

**(By the way I'm not one of those obsessed Hunger Games fans, although I did like the books and the movie, but I just thought it'd be hilarious to add it in! xD) What was your favorite part? I love it when reviewers tell me :D  
**


	4. The First Date Goes Awry

**It really is true, Nine/Rose fans are the greatest! You guys are so sweet! I'm still shocked at all the _fantastic_ things you guys are saying! XD**

* * *

Chapter 4 – The First Date Goes Awry

_Just as Rose was about to say something, the lights in the restaurant suddenly shut off, sending the entire city into pitch black darkness._

A few women in the room screamed in fright but Rose managed to stay calm, despite the fact that it was so dark she couldn't even see the Doctor sitting across the table from her. But he quelled her fears by reaching over and gripping her hand.

"Rose," He said, his voice maintaining his typical composure. "Can you see anything?"

"Not a thing." She replied shakily. "What about you?"

"I can see a bit with my heightened Time Lord senses."

"Well, if that's true, why is your hand sticky? Did you stick your hand in my crepe?" She couldn't help but giggle in the darkness, despite the situation.

"Never mind that, come on, we've got to find the manager." He pulled her up from the table and guided her to the back of the restaurant.

After a few moments, the pair were finally able to find the restaurant manager, huddled behind one of the counters. The Doctor pulled out his sonic-screwdriver to see his face in the pressing darkness.

"Why didn't you use that when we were stumbling in the dark back there?" Rose whispered to him. The Doctor gave her a look, heightened by the bright blue light of the sonic, that told her to shush up.

Rose began speaking French to the man, the but the Doctor stopped her.

"Do you speak English?" He asked him pointedly.

"Yes, a little" The manager replied, quaking in fear.

"Okay, first of all, I can tell that the electricity wasn't cut off by the storm, it happened too quickly, instantaneously is more like it. Where would one be able to have access to the power this side of town?"

"Towards middle of city," He replied in poor English. "but you'll never make it there in this dark." His eyes grew wide in fright. The Doctor looked on him in disgust and stood up from his kneeling position.

"He can't tell us any more, he's too afraid to be any help to us-"

"Doctor, wait." Rose strayed him with her hand from her position still on the floor. Leaning closer to the manager, she gripped his shoulder and spoke quietly.

"Why are all the people afraid? It's not as if any of you have never been in the dark before." She paused a moment. "Something's out there, isn't it?" To this the manager nodded.

"They say he come only in dead of night, a man-like beast from skies, to steal us of our very souls." The Doctor tilted his head intriguingly.

"How does anyone know of this 'beast from the skies'?" The Doctor asked him. "Has he been spotted?" He knew people from the late 20th century had a harder time believing in ghosts and monsters than back in earlier days, so there must have been some tangible evidence.

"I don't know. But every time he make lights go out, at least one person found missing. Last time he took a mother and her young child." The man began sobbing. "All they found of them were their bones."

"Rose, come on." The Doctor suddenly felt very uneasy. "I've heard enough." He began to pull her to the door but the manager jumped up.

"No, you can't go outside, anyone out there don't stand a chance!"

"We do." He replied, standing a little taller. "Because I'm the Doctor, this is Rose Tyler, and _we're_ the legends of the skies. We'll free you people from the fearful rule of this 'beast'!" He grabbed his companion's hand and they walked out the door into the terror-stricken night.

* * *

"Doctor, I can't see a thing." Rose whispered, holding onto the Doctor's arm as if it were her last life line. The light of the sonic did very little to quell the overbearing blackness surrounding them, even though the rain had stopped. Thick clouds covered even the moonlight.

She was surprised to find they suddenly were standing back in front of the TARDIS.

"We're leaving? But aren't we going to help these people?"

"Of course we are." The Doctor said as he stepped halfway inside, his head peering outside and into the sky. "I just think we need a little more light on the subject." Using his sonic, he attempted to move the clouds away from the sky, but with no luck. Rose caught on fast.

"You can move clouds with the TARDIS?"

"Usually. I can change most weather patterns, but right now I'm having some difficulty. Our manager friend is right, something is up there, trying to block my –ah! There we go!"

Roe watched in fascination as a small part of the foreboding clouds parted away from the nearly-full moon, basking the city in welcoming moonlight.

"That's the most I can do right now, come on Rose, it won't last long." He grabbed her hand and the two ran full-tilt towards the middle of the city.

* * *

After a couple minutes of running they came to a beautifully constructed fountain in what appeared to be near the middle of the city. Rose collapsed gratefully on the edge of the fountain. Thankfully the moonlight gave just enough light to calm her fears – mostly. The Doctor helped with the rest. She let her fingers glide lazily in the still water beside her while the Doctor scanned the area.

"I know the power outlet has to be around here somewhere"

"It's so typical." Rose said standing up, feeling a little miffed. "We always seem to be the ones rescuing these people. Why can't they ever defeat these alien threats themselves? Well sure though, France, 1999, not too aware of aliens, but still, what would they do without us? It's as if..."

The Doctor suddenly had to tune Rose out as he felt the strangest sensation, as if one of hearts had leapt in his throat and the other fallen to his stomach at the same time. He wanted to run, feeling like something was wrong, very wrong.

He turned around and saw what it was. A man was standing in the shadows up against one of the buildings. He couldn't see his face, but he could see that he was aiming a futuristic weapon right at Rose's head. She was facing away from the man, so she kept on talking without suspecting anything wrong.

"Rose, get down!" The Doctor shouted as time seemed to slow. But Rose didn't turn around, instead she kept on talking as if she hadn't heard him.

"...And if it wasn't for _us_ the Gelth would be inhabiting every..." The Doctor watched, horrified as the hidden man prepared to fire at Rose, ignoring the Doctor's own presence.

He rushed for Rose just as the villain fired. The Doctor reached her just in time and threw his entire weight on her, knocking her forcefully to the ground. The Doctor cried out in pain as the discharge from the weapon grazed his arm, burning right through the suit jacket and searing his skin.

Slightly dazed from the force of the fall, the Doctor was forced to half-carry, half drag Rose to behind the fountain, cursing the fact that he didn't have his trusty leather jacket on, which would have repelled the shot. He glanced at his left arm and winced. The skin just below his shoulder was at least a second-degree burn, and it throbbed painfully. Clenching his teeth, he set Rose down on the cement and leaned over her protectively until she could sit up. The man stayed in the shadows and continued to fire at the pair from his own hiding spot.

"Doctor, what's going on?" Rose remarked, rubbing her sore arm which had struck the ground when the Doctor collided with her.

"I think we found the one who's been taking all these people." He turned and looked at his companion. There was something wrong with her; she should have been able to hear him shouting at her. Come to think of it, he could distinctly remember a few other instances where she was acting the same way. But nothing could be done about that at the moment.

The Doctor clenched his jaw in frustration as he began fiddling with the setting on his sonic. He pressed a button once and a window exploded close to the man firing at them. Even from their position Rose could tell that he didn't even flinch. The Doctor nodded to himself, confirming his suspicion.

"It's an alien right?"

"I'm not sure. The weapon definitely is far beyond this time, but I'm getting a strange feeling about the holder." _Downright wrong._ He thought.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked as the Doctor handed her the screwdriver.

"I'm going to sneak up from behind and get him down." Rose tried to interrupt him but the Doctor raised his hand, silencing her. "I need you to press this button every few seconds." He reached over and pressed the button again and a street lamp exploded close to the stranger.

"To make him think we have a weapon as well. It's set for windows and lights that are near to him. Keep pressing it!" Rose and the Doctor ducked as the man fired at them again, blowing a hole in the hedges behind them.

"But you can't!" Rose cried, grabbing the Doctor's uninjured arm. "He'll see you!"

"No, I don't think he will, and even if he did, he's only firing at you for some reason. He's too slow, as if he's not the one controlling his actions."

"You suspect mind control?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Possibly. Can't find out for sure sitting here, but just in case, I won't hurt him..._badly_." He muttered at the end.

"Doctor." Looking deep into his ice blue eyes, she gripped his arm tighter, then released him. "Please be careful." The Doctor nodded once, before disappearing into the night.

* * *

The Doctor could see him now, The man had his back towards him, but he could see that he was wearing a large trench coat and boots. All his instincts told him to run, take Rose and flee to the TARDIS (which that in itself was unusual), but he kept thinking of his Rose, and how this man was still trying to kill her. With his whole body shaking in rage, he made his move.

Grabbing the man's shoulder, he pinched a nerve in his neck that felled him. The man collapsed unconscious to the ground. The Doctor stood over top of him, still quivering in righteous anger.

_"No one endangers my Rose."_ He whispered dangerously and possessively. As soon as it happened Rose rushed out from her hiding place. Grabbing the man's shoulder, she flipped him over onto his back.

She gasped in shock and the Doctor stood there, stunned as well.

"Captain Jack Harkness."

* * *

**Oh noes! Like you didn't really know! lol ;)**

**_Coming Up Next: Jack gets taken back to the TARDIS, the Doctor has a talk with Rose about what happened, and we finally find out what really happened on the Game Station!_  
**

**I might have to shorten some of the updates to once a day, I know it's a stupid question but how happy would you be if I did? (It wouldn't be one chapter every single day but it'd be a lot more often than what it is now :D)  
**


	5. Something's Different

**Ask and you ****shall receive! You get this extra long chapter a day early! :D Thanks to all reviewers, especially Founderblade(guest) for your especially nice review (ULTRAHUG!) and JollyRoger1 for your steady reviews on most of my stories xD**

Chapter Five – Something's Different

Rose paced outside the TARDIS med bay doors, her mind trying to run in a million different directions. The Doctor had kicked her out a while ago for talking nonstop, pacing and "bothering him" while he attended to Jack.

_"I have to be careful. There's a mind control switch lodged in his skull that could short-circuit his entire body if I make one mistake."_ He had said.

_"Why would anyone want to take control of Jack's mind?"_ Rose thought. She was worried sick for her friend she hadn't seen in ages, overjoyed at seeing him again, and angry that anyone would put his life in danger.

* * *

Two hours later Rose was sitting in a chair, staring out into nothing, fingering the burnt suit jacket the Doctor had thrown off earlier. The door opened and the Doctor came out, but Rose didn't move or look at him.

The Doctor knelt in front of her and she turned her brown eyes his way. She frowned at the bandages wrapped around his arm. _He was hurt because of me._

"He's in the clear now." He said. Rose smiled, but remained silent. She had had a lot of time to think, and she could guess exactly what was on his mind now.

"Rose, when we were standing by the fountain, did you hear me shouting at you for you to duck?" Rose didn't answer, but stared straight past him at the wall. The Doctor knew she was avoiding the question.

"Answer me truthfully Rose." He commanded her in a more stern tone. Rose lowered her head and muttered one word mournfully.

"No" The Doctor closed his eyes, his mind reeling. After a moment, he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and at nearly the same time Rose leapt up away from him.

"Rose-" The Doctor implored her but was cut off."

"No! I'm fine, I don't need any of your tests. Besides, we have more important things to worry about." She proved her point by running into the Med Bay and plopping down beside her unconscious friend. The Doctor sighed. When she was in this mood he had no chance of getting anything from her.

"He should be waking up any moment now." He remarked as he returned the sonic to its rightful spot in his inside jacket pocket.

Twenty seconds later the captain's eyes fluttered open. He looked confused for a moment, then shock lit his face.

"Rose...Doctor!" He tried to sit up but was forced back down by the Doctor's strong arm.

"Easy Captain, rest a second. Tell us, what's the last thing you remember?" Jack lay there a moment, thinking.

"I...I remember..." He winced as his head began to pound. "I remember coming to France to investigate an alien threat, and...I was attacked from behind. Then I was on a ship-"

"Hold on, you mean an alien space ship?" Rose interrupted him.

"Exactly. Can't remember anything after that. What's going on? Where have you guys been?" He frowned. "We were fighting the Daleks, then you guys just abandoned me, why?" His face clearly showed how hurt and rejected he felt. Rose and the Doctor turned their gaze away from his searching eyes in guilt.

"It all happened so fast, Jack. I'm sorry we-"

"I can explain it better." The Doctor interrupted Rose. "It all happened like this..."

_ This was it. It was time for him to die. He closed his eyes, preparing himself for the extermination. Suddenly he heard a noise he thought he would never hear again. He spun around in disbelief as the TARDIS materialized out of thin air. The doors opened and he saw the most beautiful, yet the most horrifying thing he had ever seen in his entire life. It was Rose._

_ "I am the Bad Wolf." Her voice was strange and ethereal. He was terrified for her. She was in mortal danger._

_ "Rose! You've got to stop this, you've got to stop this now! You've got the entire vortex running through your head, you're gonna burn!" She turned her golden eyes his way._

_ "I want you safe. My Doctor. Protected from the false god." He understood it now. She had put her life in danger, just to save him. He barely heard her next few words, all he could think about was how to save her, how to stop her from dying. He suddenly looked around as the Daleks around him turned to dust. He realized it was Rose. Rose was now the giver of life and death. She truly was the Bad Wolf. And then they were alone._

_ "Rose, you've done it. Now stop. Just let go!"_

_ "How can I let go of this? ...I bring life." The Doctor felt Jack's presence come alive again._

_ "But this is wrong! You can't control life and death!" _

_ "But I can! The sun, and the moon. The day and night. But why do they hurt?"_

_ "The power's gonna kill you, and it's my fault!" He hung his head in shame and fear. _

_ "I can see everything, all that is, all that was, all that ever could be." The Doctor stood up in front of her, his eyes widening in surprise._

_ "That's what I see, all the time, and doesn't it drive you mad?" He knew how to save her now._

_ "My head!" She cried._

_ "Come here."_

_ "It's killing me!" Tears ran down her face in desperation._

_ "I think you need a Doctor." He smiled weakly, knowing how to save her. The Doctor grabbed her and was preparing himself to remove the Bad Wolf from her, but he noticed a sudden change in her demeanor. He thought it wasn't possible, but even more tears sprang to her eyes, as if she had discovered something horrible. To confirm his thoughts, her mouth opened wide and she could barely speak through her sobs._

_ "I can see everything. I see a wall, surpassing this dimension's reality. I see two beings ripped apart, forever consumed in their grief." She turned her tear-stricken face up to her Doctor. "Please, make it go away Doctor." The brilliant golden light in her eyes dissipated a little as she saw herself and a different Doctor at the end of the Battle of Canary Wharf in the future._

_ "You have to want to let it go Rose, don't try to change it. Just let it go." He would not believe she could do it, but to his amazement, she spoke again, her words laced with sadness and determination._

_ "The only way to change it..._is_ to let it go." And with that she was no longer the Bad Wolf. The golden light left her body and entered back into the TARDIS, its' doors slamming shut behind it._

_ Rose immediately collapsed into the Doctor's arms. Distressed, the Doctor felt for a heartbeat and found none. _

_ "She's dying." He picked her up as if she were as light as a feather and kicked the TARDIS doors open, rushing her to the Med Bay._

_ "Get us out of here." He ordered the TARDIS as he passed by the console, knowing full well that he was leaving Jack behind._

"So what you're telling me is that you left me on that space station because you were too busy trying to save Rose's life?"

"Yes, she was comatose for nearly a week after that."

"I nearly died." Rose chimed in thoughtfully.

"Surely that can't be the only reason." He looked at the Doctor standing behind Rose, who suddenly motioned for him to keep quiet in front of her. Jack furrowed his eyebrows before making a grunt of dissatisfaction.

"Well, if that's what you say happened, I have no choice but to believe it..." He paused. "So what happens now?"

"We find that alien ship up there, and stop them terrorizing the people. And by 'we', I mean me."

"What?" Both Jack and Rose cried in indignation.

"Jack, you are nowhere near well enough to leave the TARDIS for at least another twelve hours." Jack grumbled but knew he was right. His head was still pounding _jack_hammers, to pardon the pun.

"And you Rose, you almost got killed today. I'm not going to let you take any chances in your condition." But unlike Jack, Rose was willing to fight.

_"In my condition?"_ She repeated, her voice seething with anger. She came up in front of the Doctor, looking up at him, determination in her eyes. "I have stayed by your side through thick and thin. Through Daleks, Gelth and Slitheen. Now if you stand there and tell me you really don't need me because of _"what's wrong with me"_, then fine, I'll stay here and play checkers with Jack. But I know you need me now more than ever." In his hearts the Doctor knew she was right.

_"Damn she's good."_ He thought. Rose leaned in even closer and narrowed her eyes.

"Don't you dare lie to me Doctor." She demanded. The Doctor knew he was beat. Grabbing her shoulders, he looked right into her eyes.

"You're absolutely right. I do need you, so much. Now go get changed into something more appropriate for alien hunting."

Rose grinned and kissed the Doctor on the cheek. As she turned around, the Doctor lightly patted her on her bottom, and she turned around and flashed him a mischievous smile.

"Down boy." She warned, winking and sauntering off. Jack raised his eyebrow as he felt his own sensual desires tensing up at her expression.

_"Probably hitting the Doctor ten times worse."_ He surmised.

"Something's changed between you two." He said once Rose had left the room.

"No kidding Jack." The Doctor replied sarcastically.

"Ha ha. I'll have to hear the story of how that happened later. But I suspect you have something else to tell me right now."

"You suspect right. Have you noticed anything strange in the hundreds of years since we saw you last?" Jack was shocked, to say the least.

"How did you know that? Not even Rose noticed."

"I'm a Time Lord Jack, I sense these things. Plus Rose hasn't been very observant lately."

"Yeah, what's wrong with her? She keeps averting her gaze, as if she's not listening to us."

"I don't know. I wish she wasn't so stubborn like her mother and stay here until I have a chance to examine her." The Doctor reached over and handed the Captain the chip that had been lodged in his head. At seeing it Jack got a look of disgust and anger.

"This shouldn't have happened to me!" He slammed the bed beside him angrily. "I'm better than that!"

"No going back now." The Doctor replied. "All that's left is to stop whoever did this to you."

"Wish I could help you." He paused. "Hey wait, did you check to see if Rose has one of these? She may be slightly mind-controlled too. It would certainly explain her strange behavior."

"I already thought of that. I took a quick glance at the back of her head and she doesn't have one. Besides, there's no moment that I can pinpoint where they could have kidnapped her and put one on; I was with her the whole time we came to Paris." He shook his head. "No, something else is wrong with her. I wish she'd trust me enough to tell me." They both were quiet for a moment.

"How long have you known about me?" Jack said, and the Doctor knew what he was talking about.

"Ever since we ran away from you." He paused. "When did you first realize it?

"Earth, 1892. " He paused, remembering something. "After you two left me, I used this," He rolled his sleeve up to expose a band around his wrist. The Doctor scoffed upon seeing it. "Hey! It's all I had, this dimension hopper. But I went back too far and it short circuited, had to wait hundreds of years 'til I could find you again." He fingered the worn out leather on the medical bay stretcher. "Anyway, Earth, 1892, I got in a fight on Ellis Island. The man shot me through the heart." He tapped one finger against his chest. "And then I woke up. Thought it was kind of strange." The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows. "But then it never stopped. Fell from a cliff, trampled by horses, World War 1, World War 2 _again_, poison, starvation, stray javelin."

"Ooh." The Doctor winced, bringing his fingers up to rub his temple.

"In the end, I got the message. I'm the man who can never die." He slapped his hands against his lap. "And all that time you knew." He glared at him. "Hundreds of years I've had to wait for you, and you knew!"

"That's why I left you behind, after I took Rose into the TARDIS." He looked away at Jack's piercing gaze. "It's not easy, even just to look at you. You're wrong."

"Thanks." He replied.

"You are. It's not my fault. I'm a Time Lord. Part of my instincts." He paused. "You're a fixed point in time in space, a fact. It was never meant to happen. I sensed something was very wrong when Rose and I were by the fountain and I stopped you from hurting her."

"She did it to me, didn't she?" He stepped over the fact that he nearly killed her. "Last thing I remember, back when I was mortal, I was facing three Daleks. Death by extermination. Then I came back to life. I heard you just now, she said, back when she was the Bad Wolf, _"I bring life."_ She brought me back to life."

"No one was meant to have the power that she had. She absorbed the raw power of the entire vortex. If a Time Lord did that, he'd become a god, a vengeful god." He shuddered, glad he hadn't absorbed the Bad Wolf from her. "But she's human, a beautiful, perfect human. Rose can do no wrong. But she couldn't control it. She brought you back forever. But that's at least something. The final act of the Time War was life, I mean, after she wiped out the Daleks."

"Do you think she can change me back?" He lowered his voice a little, not wanting her to hear when she came back into the room.

"No!" The Doctor cried loudly, then whispered. "I don't want her to even try. Her head nearly exploded last time, she'll die if she tries to do it again."

"Okay, okay." Jack waved him off. "Just asking." He paused, smiling. "I went back to her estate, in the 1990s', before I came to France. Just once or twice. Y'know, I watched her grow up. Never said hello, time lines and all that. You guys just up and left me. I couldn't help but wonder. I missed you two." The Doctor nodded.

"Do you want to die?" The Doctor suddenly said, interrupting Jack. He stared off into space, not replying. "Jack." The Doctor repeated.

"I thought I did, I don't know. But being here again with you two, off on another adventure, chasing aliens like nothing ever happened... it's fantastic!"

"Fantastic!" The Doctor repeated, grinning.

"So, all traces of this Bad Wolf, gone?"

"Yes. I tested her immediately after the incident and all traces of the Bad Wolf were removed, which puzzles me." He scratched his head.

"Why?"

"It should have killed her. Her head was literally burning from the inside. I was prepared to regenerate for her when she just lets it go, and a week later she's fine. The whole thing just isn't right."

"I'm sure everything will work out soon."

"I hope so Jack, for Rose's sake." Both the boys quieted down as they heard Rose reenter the room.

"Look what I found!" She exclaimed, grinning. She was wearing a leather jacket identical to the Doctor's, but apparently it was way too big for her and hung around her body like a cloak. Both the Doctor and Jack grinned at the impish look her face.

"Ah, now that's what I call alien hunting gear!" The Doctor nodded approvingly while chuckling. "Forgot I had a spare one in there."

"Rose, do your Doctor impersonation!" Jack said, remembering all the times Jack and Rose would tease the Doctor about his northern accent before the events in the Game Station. Rose took on an exact stance of her Doctor and grinned as wide as she could.

"Lots of planets have a North!" She shouted, waving her arms dramatically before bursting into giggles. Pretty soon the two of them were laughing so hard tears were coming down their cheeks. The Doctor tried to look offended but ended up laughing with them too.

"These pockets are massive!" Rose said, finally getting her breath back. "Look at all this stuff!" She exclaimed, pulling random items out, her arm nearly disappearing into the pocket. "What the?" She began laughing again as she pulled out a banana.

"Oi!" The Doctor yelled, snatching the banana from her and stuffing it into his own pocket. "Bananas are good."

"So we've heard!" Jack and Rose said at the same time, before laughing once again.

"You better put all that stuff back!" The Doctor yelled, grabbing Rose and tickling her.

"Oh no, not again!" Rose shouted, trying to push his hands off. "Alright, alright I will!" She screamed as he touched an especially ticklish spot.

It felt so good to be happy again after a night of fear and distress.

* * *

**Yes I know, I nearly copied that scene from Utopia, it's one of my favorites and highly informative, and I tried to alter it enough to something that Nine would say rather than Ten.**

**_Next: The Doctor finds the alien ship and he and Rose go to confront who is behind all this._  
**

**It's a gradual process, but by now you must notice that Nine is being more open, talking more. I believe if he didn't regenerate, his character would have grown due to Rose's help. Secretly many fans believe that's why Ten's so outgoing and fun, because of her effect on him in his previous regeneration. So Nine may seem a bit OOC in future chapters but it's because I think Rose is developing his character into something more loveable. His emotions will become more clear and his tough exterior may fail him some as the story goes on. Don't worry I won't change his character too much, he'll still be there. Just warning you :)  
**

**Oh and if you guys are wondering about Torchwood, it's non-existent for the moment, at least in this world. It's just too many details to add in, especially at this point in the story. Sorry if you were expecting that :/  
**

**Please review! xD  
**


	6. On Board

**I don't get why most writers post their stories and only update like once every two weeks or even longer when their story is over ten/twenty chapters long. Why wouldn't you want to get it done as soon as possible? Your computer may break down, you may lose internet indefinitely, anything could happen!(Which is why I didn't update earlier today, my brother stole my cable xP) I get it if you get writer's block, but that's why I try to write my whole story before publishing it, and then update it within a span of a couple days between each, that way I don't leave people hanging by the threads of my story. Does anybody have any thoughts on that?  
**

Chapter 6 – On Board

_"Well, if that's what you say happened, I have no choice but to believe it..." Jack paused. "So what happens now?"_

_"We find that alien ship up there, and stop them terrorizing the people of Paris."_

* * *

"I found it!" The Doctor exclaimed, standing in front of the TARDIS computer screen.

"You found the ship?" Rose said, rushing over.

"No, Lady Gaga's missing sanity, yes, of course the ship!" Rose merely rolled her eyes as he continued. "Those buggers hid their ship well, but not well enough."

"How are you going to get up there?" Jack asked from the other side of the room. He was leaning up against one of the coral columns, whistling a strange tune known as _Bad Romance_ but still unhappy at being forced to be left behind. He was reminded why as his head began to pound again. Maybe he should stop whistling.

"We'll fly the TARDIS up of course." The Doctor said, grinning cheekily. "Use what you got" I always say."

"You've never said that before!" Rose interrupted him.

"'Course I have. You just have a poor memory. Here we go!" He broke off Rose's reply by starting the lift sequence. The TARDIS shook as it rose up from the grounds of France and shot up into the cloudy night sky.

* * *

"Are we there?" Rose whispered as everything became still.

"We're on board. The perception filters are on so the TARDIS won't be detected."

"But will we?"

"I have a plan, come here." He beckoned Rose over to the computer screen. He put his finger on it as the interior map of the alien ship came into focus. "We'll crawl through the ventilation shafts undetected, until we reach the command center. We'll peacefully take out their leaders and disable their ship while contacting the Shadow Proclamation there."

"That's your plan?" Rose asked incredulously. "And how do you peacefully take out somebody?"

"How I always do Rose, through my powers of communication."

"You mean your windbag tendencies." Jack corrected. Rose grinned but the Doctor merely glared at him, wondering why he had let Jack back on the TARDIS anyway. Rose came up to Jack and kissed him on the cheek. He winced as his headache flared.

"See you soon Jack." She stroked the side of his cheek as a sister would do to her younger brother, her eyes showing compassion at his pain. He smiled.

"Take care of yourself Rose, and watch out for him as well, he can be rather reckless at times."

"I will." Rose replied, moving back over to the Doctor. As Jack watched them go he had this horrible feeling that something bad was going to happen, specifically to Rose.

"You ready?" The Doctor asked Rose, gripping her hand.

"If you're ready." was her nervous reply. The Doctor slowly opened the doors, and the two of them stepped out onto the alien ship.

* * *

It was cold. Cold and damp. Rose shivered as they crawled through the narrow ventilation shafts.

"Don't 'tooch' the sides." The Doctor had warned her in his northern accent she had grown to love so much. "There may be sensors." The Doctor was much faster crawling on his hands and knees. Rose grumbled quietly as her own knees began to ache. Focusing on herself, she was unaware of her flowing blouse brushing up against one of the walls of the shaft.

* * *

"We have movement in the ventilation shafts, area 15." Second Ranked Naveen looked up from his station at his Commander sitting in his designated seat, staring at the planet below. Garbed in a dark blue suit and cape that accented his light blue skin, Commander Savo was the picture of regality and leadership. He had gained his crew's respect and loyalty through his quick reactions and utter ruthlessness. Commander Savo was not one to be messed with.

At his Second in Command's report, Savo strode over to him, never once showing any sign of surprise.

"How many?"

"The sensors see only one, but there may be more."

"Can we get an image on the one?"

"It's coming up now sir." Naveen replied, his twelve fingers moving in a blur over the controls. He gasped, but again Savo showed no emotion. _"How does he do it?"_ Naveen thought.

"She's human, from the planet below." Savo commented quietly. "How did she get up here?"

"We haven't heard from our contact in a few hours, he may have been compromised." Naveen winced as Savo gripped his shoulder tightly.

"It doesn't matter. Soon she'll tell us everything. Are the new lock-down systems operational yet?"

"Yes, they came on this morning." Naveen paused. "Do you want me to use them sir?"

"By all means, yes. Don't forget to use the scanners for the exact information."

"Already on it." Again his fingers flashed over his station speedily, clearly showing his experience at his job.

"You're correct sir. She's human, yellow skin, yellow...ish hair, medium build. Largest part of the body is-"

"Never mind that." Savo interrupted sharply. "Stick with what's important."

"Yes sir. Smallest part of the body is her waist. Strange."

"A typical human. Once you've captured her and her cohorts, if she has any, get the guards down there and bring them to me." And with that Commander Savo returned to his Captain's chair and resumed his vigilant watch of Planet Earth below.

* * *

"Doctor." Rose whispered as loud as she dared to. "How much farther?" The Doctor was pretty far ahead of her, and had unwittingly underestimated his opponents' use of technology, which should have made him a lot more worried than he currently was.

"Not much farther now Rose." He could see the end of the narrow shaft up ahead, unaware of the scanners penetrating Rose's body.

Just as he reached the exit, he heard a high-pitched 'whoosh' noise and a scream behind him.

* * *

Rose was glad they were almost out, she was sure her knees were completely flat by now.

She stopped as she felt a strange sensation, as if the walls were closing in on her. Then suddenly, like an airlock being closed, she was trapped and could not move.

* * *

The Doctor turned around and to his horror saw that Rose looked like she was trapped inside a wall. He crawled back as quickly as he could and took stock of the situation.

"Rose! Are you alright?" He hadn't seen anything like it before. Someone had built it as if the circular doors could close around a person. An impenetrable metal wall with a small opening had closed around her, at her stomach, the smallest part of her body. Rose gasped in pain.

"Can't, breathe...waist, constricted." She used her free hands and tried to push herself out, with no avail. She muttered something about the size of her hips but the Doctor ignored it.

"Take slow, deep breaths Rose, I'll get you out." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and madly began pressing buttons, but nothing was moving. He could tell Rose was panicking, both by her inability to draw breath and the sounds of their enemy drawing nearer.

"Doctor, help!" She gasped out, desperately pushing on the wall, her eyes wide with fright.

"I'll get you out." The Doctor repeated as he started to panic himself. Finally he grabbed Rose's arms and attempted to pull her out himself, but her small makeshift prison was too good.

To his distress he saw Rose had passed out from pain and lack of oxygen. To further give him fear, he felt the barrel of a gun in the small of his back.

"Turn around slowly." A deep voice said.

Game Over.

* * *

**I'm so mean! lol I'm having difficulty with the chapters, I never realized how some are really long and others super short, I keep trying to fix it but every time I do my head seems to explode. So with a longer chapter last time I hope a short one today was okay :/**

**_Next: The Doctor and Rose are taken to meet Commander Savo, and Savo discovers something extremely important..._  
**


	7. Messing With the Wrong Time Lord

**I meant no offense in my last A/N, I totally understand how difficult it is to finish a story once it's published.  
**

**When I read the last chapter before publishing it, I noticed I had 'kidnapped' a lot of Star Trek terms, bridge, pad etc. I tried to change them but if I missed any, I'm sorry! ;D**

**Sorry I didn't update earlier, I've been working on an Eleven/Rose story that I started over a year ago that I've had writer's block on for the longest time (mainly because the beginning/reunion is soo cheesy! xP) Should I finish it?  
**

* * *

Chapter 7 – Messing with the Wrong Time Lord

_To his distress the Doctor saw Rose had passed out from the lack of oxygen due to the makeshift prison constricting her waist. To further give him fear, he felt the barrel of a gun in the small of his back._

_"Turn around slowly." A deep voice said._

The Doctor turned around as he was told but he could not keep the anger off his face. A rather large blue humanoid glared at him from the outside of the shaft.

"Release my friend, you're suffocating her." He spoke calmly, trying not to lose his temper.

"In time. You don't make the orders around here. Now come on!" He pulled the Doctor towards him at the exit of the shaft. The Doctor took one last look at Rose, before sighing in resignation.

* * *

Commander Savo was, to say the least, surprised in many ways, although he never showed it. He was sure the blond human had brought more compatriots with her from the planet. Instead, there she lay unceremoniously dumped unconscious on the floor in front of him, while a man, earthling he had assumed – was kneeling over her, protecting her.

Savo was also unnerved by the man's eyes. They were dark and foreboding, holding a wisdom far beyond his age of appearance, and showed absolutely no fear in the least, only anger. Usually Savo was the one able to make his prisoners fall quivering at his feet.

"How did you get in my ship?" Savo said suddenly. The Doctor looked up at him but would not say a word.

"Will you not answer?" He paused. "No matter, at least tell me this," Savo stood up, grabbing a computerized pad from Naveen standing by.

"This wouldn't happen to be yours, would it?" His regal blue cloak swished around his ankles as he motioned towards the doorway.

The Doctor tried his best not to show any shock as three aliens dragged the TARDIS inside the room.

_"Oh please Jack, for heaven's sake, don't pull a Rose on me today, just stay in there!"_ He thought.

"Mm. Nice phone box." The Doctor said aloud. "Probably nipped it off the planet didn't you? Typical Josnians, taking by force to gain whatever you desire." Now it was Savo's turn not to look surprised.

"How did you know we were Josnians? We have not let ourselves be exposed to these humans." He narrowed his eyes. "What species are you really?"

"Time Lord." He replied. "Of Gallifrey."

"Hmm, never heard of them, must not have been very influential." Not a typical response that the Doctor had heard lately.

"Oh, they were influential alright, they just chose not to get into the affairs of the Josnia world. Too petty and self-righteous to be worth anything." Savo bristled, but ignored his last comment.

"You said 'were'. Are they gone?"

"Yes, now there's just me." The Doctor growled.

"And her." Savo pointed to Rose.

"No, she's human, let her go. She's not important to you."

"Oh, now why would I do that?" Savo strode over to the massive windows and looked down at the blue and green planet orbiting below. "Not when these humans are so important."

"What do you need them for?" He started to stand up but heard a whimper at his feet. Crouching down, he lifted Rose's head as she slowly started to wake up, clutching her stomach.

"Take slow, deep breaths Rose." He whispered to her. "Let oxygen back into your system." She did as she was told and pretty soon her labored breaths grew easier and color slowly returned to her face. The Doctor gave a sigh of relief.

"Those humans down there." Savo spoke without turning his eyes from the planet. "They never knew they had a purpose."

"And what would that be?" The Doctor growled, feeling his blood temperature rise. Savo spun around.

"Why, to better the lives of those beings above them! Surely you of all people must understand _Doctor_." He spat his name spitefully. At this the Doctor stood up.

"You've been experimenting with them." He started simply, his every word growing in fury.

"Just think Doctor, we can find ways to stop disease, hunger, death from acid spills, anything you could imagine!" The Josnian's angry tone disappeared into a softer, fake one.

"So humans have been your guinea pigs, you experiment on them until they die, is that it?" The Doctor clenched his fists.

"You're looking at the wrong side of things, bettering the rest of the universe is a good thing!"

"Not at the cost of those humans down there!" He pointed to Earth, his eyes blazing.

"Those pitiful humans, running around like _canaras_, believing there are 'monsters in the dark'!"

"But the woman, and her child, the bones-" Rose cried, still seated on the floor.

"An unfortunate accident." Savo turned to her. "We were trying out a new invention, a faster teleportation device. But parts of it were so fast the skin got transported before the bones did. Such a pity." Rose couldn't believe her ears at the barbarity.

"Why you-you bastard! You're just a bully, not fit to command a garbage bin!" She attempted to stand and was roughly hauled up by two of the guards. She cried out at the strain to her middle. The Doctor moved towards her but one of the guards pushed him back.

"Nobody talks to Commander Savo that way!"

"Wait!" The Doctor placed himself between Savo and Rose. "Why all the secrecy? Spreading myths and using brainwashed humans to do your dirty work, that's not very Josnian."

"Because we can't attract too much attention. If you must know we're on a discreet mission from Ruler Minggo himself to better our technology. And nobody can stop us!"

"There is somebody who can stop you!" Rose heart quickened at the Doctor's low tone, his ice blue eyes burning with the power of a Time Lord.

"Oh yeah?" Savo crossed his arms. "And who would that be, you?"

"Yes, me." The Doctor moved closer to him. "Because, not only have you been taking the lives of the humans and killing them to better your technology, put a dangerous mind-control device on my friend to do your dirty work, but you threatened the life of my companion, my dearest mate. Twice you nearly killed the one thing in life I live for now. _My_ Rose. " He said her name proudly and possessively. "And for that reason alone I'm gonna stop you." He turned around and flashed a grin at Rose and she smiled back at him, her heart filling with warmth and love. She knew without a doubt he would get them both out of this alive. "But one last thing before I do," He continued, turning back to Savo. "Why was my mind-controlled friend only trying to hurt her, and not the both of us?"

"And why should I tell you?" Savo asked snarkly. But he nearly jumped back in fear at the look of pure hatred the Doctor was giving him. The Oncoming Storm. As to not hurt his pride in front of his officers, Savo shrugged it off and merely looked bored.

"Newest orders to our associate, or 'your friend'. We need deceased females specifically for our newest project." The Doctor's glare turned even darker and Savo knew that this was it. The Oncoming Storm had come, and destruction would surely follow in his wake.

From behind his back the Doctor activated his sonic screwdriver and instantly every console and computer began sparking, before shutting down completely, shrouding the room in darkness. The only light came from the back up systems. The guards immediately dropped Rose and she ran to the Doctor. He wrapped his arms around her, as if to shield her from what had happened. He threw a triumphant grin at Savo.

"Engines offline, Air locks are sealed, shuttle bays locked down and escape units are blocked off. You're stuck in space." Savo growled and motioned at the two guards.

"Kill them." He ordered. Rose clutched the Doctor's arm as the guards raised their weapons and prepared to fire.

Suddenly the TARDIS doors burst open and Jack stood there, two of his own guns pointed at the guards.

"Unit 52!" Second Ranked Officer Naveen said in surprise.

"That's Captain Jack Harkness to you, at your service." With two quick shots he disposed of the guards. "I saw the whole thing inside the TARDIS and figured now would be a great time to show up." Turning to his friends, he grinned. "Doctor, Rose, you two have a date to finish." They laughed as the two of them fled into the TARDIS.

"Oh, and Savo?" The Doctor stuck his head back out. "The Shadow Proclamation is on their way. I suggest you sit tight...well, nothing much else you can do now." And with that he slammed the doors shut.

The trios' laughter filled the air and Savo stood quivering in anger as the blue box faded from sight.

* * *

**Team TARDIS ftw! :D**

**_Next: The Doctor and Rose finish their date, but both come up with disturbing thoughts...are they really meant to be together? _(Don't worry, it's not that angsty)  
**

**So what did Savo learn? DON'T MESS WITH THE ONCOMING STORM'S ROSE! xD  
**


	8. A Mismatched Couple?

**Warning: This is one of the last fluffy...ish chapters until the real plot comes rolling along.**

**Songfic/chapter alert! I don't write them anymore but in my defense I did write this a year ago...  
**

* * *

Chapter 8 – A Mismatched Couple?

_"I saw the whole thing inside the TARDIS and figured now would be a great time to show up." Jack turned to his friends. "Doctor, Rose, you two have a date to finish." They laughed as the two of them fled into the TARDIS._

_The trios' laughter filled the air and Savo stood quivering in anger as the blue box faded from sight._

"Nice work there Captain!" The Doctor slapped Jack on the back. He winced in pain. "Sorry." He apologized. Immediately he turned to Rose and enveloped her in a huge hug.

"Don't ever do that to me again." He whispered in her ear.

"I can't help it if near-death experiences are attracted to me Doctor." He stopped, noticing Rose's labored breaths.

"Are you alright?"

"My waist still hurts." He let her go and lifted up the bottom of her shirt. He gasped at the large, numerous bruises all around her middle.

"Tonight before you go to sleep let me give you a salve for those, it'll make them heal faster." Rose nodded. They turned around and saw Jack grinning at them.

"What?" They said simultaneously.

"I had a lot of spare time on my hands, so I prepared something for the two of you. No, I'm not telling you what. First, get into some good clothes, dress clothes that can be removed easily." He winked at them. Rose blushed and the Doctor shifted nervously.

The two of them did as they were told. The Doctor reluctantly put his suit back on (with a new unsinged jacket) and Rose donned a tight red dress with a slit down the side that exposed her legs up to the middle of her thigh.

As soon as they were ready Jack lead them deeper inside the TARDIS. When they reached a door, Jack opened it slowly.

"Blimey." Rose gasped. The room was set up just like the high-class French restaurant they had dined in earlier. Roses were the main décor, bordering the walls and trellises. A giant 30 foot canvas depicted a veranda leading outside into a starry night, this time devoid of rain. Soft music played in the background.

"You did this all yourself?"

"Well, the TARDIS did help a little." The Doctor was a bit uncomfortable at Jack seeing their new relationship so obvious, but the sight of Rose in that red dress with the spaghetti-strap sleeves and plunging neckline was enough to make it okay.

Jack took off his enormous World War II coat, and had suddenly transformed into the part of a fancy waiter.

"Table for two, this way." He grinned at them. As soon as they were seated, Jack brought up a bottle of Bordeaux and poured them each a glass. After he left to get their food, the Doctor and Rose clinked glasses in a toast.

"To Jack and his ingenuity."

"All he's missing is the little mustache." Rose commented, giggling. The Doctor smiled on response.

A few minutes later Jack brought out what he deemed as _Blanquette de veau, _in other words, a veal dish combined with aromatic vegetables.

"Aromatic vegetables?" Rose repeated skeptically. "Really?"

"Hey, I just read what the TARDIS gives me Blondie." He winked at her as he left their table. He picked up a microphone sitting in the corner and cued the TARDIS.

"This one's on me." He said as the music began to play. He sang a duet with a female recording to a well-known Earth song in the 21st Century. His voice was luscious and soothing on the parts that he sang, splashing waves of calm and romantic passion over Rose and the Doctor. The song was a good choice, seeing that it seemed to fit their life perfectly.

"_I run from hate.  
I run from prejudice,  
I run from pessimists,  
But I run too late.  
I run my life.  
Or is it running me?  
Run from my past,  
I run too fast  
Or too slow it seems.  
When lies become the truth...  
That's when I run to you."_

The Doctor looked over at Rose. He noticed her makeup was natural; just the way he liked it. Her hair was done up, except for two strands of wispy blond hair that fell on both sides of her face. Her sparkling brown eyes smiled right into his. Her perfect white teeth, her red lips...

Wait? What was he thinking? He was nine hundred years old! This girl was a child compared to him. What would she ever want with a bitter, scarred Time Lord like him? He had killed with his bare hands, and she had worked in a shop.

But one look into her eyes explained it all. She saw his inner beauty, what he could become, and she loved him. She didn't care about his past life or mistakes, she merely accepted him for who he was, a man destined to traverse the universe with his blue box. And she wanted to travel right beside him.

He reached over and placed his hand on top of hers._  
_

"_This world keeps spinning faster  
Into a new disaster so I run to you.  
I run to you, baby.  
And when it all starts coming undone,  
Baby you're the only one I run to.  
I run to you..."_

Rose felt a rush of warmth flood her body at the Doctor's gentle touch. She looked up into his eyes and was startled to see apprehension. And suddenly she felt a little nervous herself.

He wasn't exactly her type, if she was truly honest with herself. Hell, her mate Shireen would go nuts if she knew Rose was on a date like this with a man who appeared to be at least forty but was in fact hundreds of years old.

Rose didn't know why she loved him. She couldn't explain it. Maybe because it was he who took her away from her drab, boring life and flew her across the galaxy to places unheard of by any other human in her time. Maybe because she had first seen him as a damaged, broken man. From that moment he told her he was the last of his kind, she wanted with all her heart to make him okay again, to give him a piece of what he had lost. He had made her life so much better and she only wanted to do the same for him.

But why was he suddenly so nervous? Surely she made her intentions clear, right?

Were they going forwards or backwards?

She turned her hand over and squeezed his hand.

_"We run on fumes.  
Your life and mine  
Like the sands of time,  
Slippin' right on through.  
Our love's the only truth.  
That's why I run to you..."_

Jack set down his microphone and let the rest of the recording play without him. He knew when three truly was a crowd.

He silently wished them the best and shut the door behind him.

The Doctor and Rose didn't even notice him leave. As if in a trance, they leaned in together, all previous thoughts as dust in the wind.

The Doctor held the sides of her face, running his fingers in the back of her hair, grateful to be kissing her.

Rose knew this wasn't lust, or just a snog. She had never kissed anyone like this before, so passionate, so lovingly, yet so gentle. It was if their lips were made to be together. In her whole life she had never experienced anything like it.

For once no guilty thoughts about Mickey, no sad thoughts about her lonely mother, not even a thought about her secrets she was trying so hard to hide from him. For once all her worries were gone and they were as one.

"_This world keeps spinning faster  
Into a new disaster so I run to you.  
I run to you baby.  
And when it all starts coming undone,  
Baby you're the only one I run to.  
I run to you._

"_Woah..._

_Oh I run to you..."_

As they slowly released each other, they simultaneously smiled, joy welling up inside of them. Rose laughed in sheer relief and looked down at her food.

"At this rate we might have to wrap it for home."

"As long as you let me walk you there." The Doctor leaned back in his chair and grinned. Rose gave him a thoughtful look, as if considering.

"Alright, I'll let you take me home."

"_This world keeps spinning faster  
Into a new disaster so I run to you.  
I run to you baby.  
And when it all starts coming undone,  
Baby you're the only one I run to...  
I run to you, I run to you yeah..._

_Woah, _

_Oh I run to you._

_I run to you girl._

_Woah..._

_I always run to you,_

_Run to you..._

_Run to you..."_

As the music died down, the Doctor stood up and Rose followed suit. He couldn't help but marvel at the way her dress failed to cover her bare legs.

_"I need this woman."_ He thought hungrily. He moved in to kiss her again. Rose gladly let him in, feeling a wave of contentment wash over her.

And then his touch went down.

"No!" Rose suddenly cried and pushed him away. "I can't do this!"

* * *

**Lady Antebellum is da bomb! Review for faster updates! :D**

**_Next: Why is Rose hesitating? And after that, Jack has an important announcement to make..._  
**

**OH! I totally forgot! I made a movie trailer for this, but I can't upload it to Youtube(stupid copyright issues) and it's not exactly done(I have to fix a few parts and was contemplating making it longer). If anybody wants I could probably try to email it to you, or if you'd rather prefer I fixed it first...just leave it in your review :)_  
_**


	9. Mistrust and Secrets

**Wow! Six reviews for the last chapter! Maybe I should go back to updating every two days ;D  
**

**I was thinking about my video after I posted the last chapter, and I fixed it! It actually didn't take that long, only half an hour...geez why did I wait so long? Maybe it's motivation to finish off my other ones too :P Anyway if anybody wants it I've got it xD**

**_Rated T for implied violence and assault._  
**

* * *

Chapter 9 – Mistrust and Secrets

_He moved in to kiss her again. Rose gladly let him in, feeling a wave of contentment wash over her._

_ And then his touch went down._

Sudden, horrifying images flashed into her head, memories she had forced herself to forget many years ago. Her eyes flew open in terror.

"No!" She cried, shoving him away. "I can't do this, not again!" She turned away from him as tears began to fall. The Doctor was startled by Rose's reaction, to say the least. Had he gone too far, too fast?

"Rose, what's wrong?" He came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Rose waited, gathering strength. After about a minute she spoke.

"My...my past life, that is, before I met you, hasn't been perfect. I mean, sure I made mistakes, but I had completely forgotten some of them until you..." She let the sentence drop, knowing he would get what she meant. The Doctor stayed silent, knowing that she needed to work through this. A moment later, she took a deep breath and then began, turning to face him.

"Do you remember when I told you about Jimmy Stone, my old boyfriend before Mickey?" The Doctor nodded. "I told you I dropped out of high school to go live with him. What I didn't tell you was that he forced me to. I didn't want to drop out of school or leave my mum on her own, but he said as his girlfriend I needed to do as he wished. Me, I was just grateful that the star of the football team was even looking at me, not being one of the more popular 'thin as a rail' girls. He took me away from my mum, Mickey, all my friends, my life. He took my whole life away." She gasped down a sob. The Doctor rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. He couldn't imagine it getting any worse, but he was wrong.

"I didn't remember until now but...he used to come to me, drunk and crazy. He...he..." She couldn't get the words to come out.

"He date-raped you?" She nodded, closing her eyes to more tears.

"Multiple times?" She nodded again. A primal growl uttered from his throat as his vision turned red. That bastard hurt the most important woman in the universe, his Bad Wolf, so much more important than any other stupid ape!

"I'll kill him!"

"No!" Rose grabbed his arm. "It all worked out though. One night Jimmy was so drunk he just started throwing things at me, But Mickey, after weeks, had tracked us down and burst in, just before I was sure I was gonna die. I remember, hiding there under his table, unable to breathe, unable to call for help. I had never been so scared in my life." She started sobbing again, her emotions becoming too overwhelming. _The crashing of the wooden chairs, Jimmy's alcohol-induced rage, feeling hopelessly on her own, __the thought of never seeing the light of day again..._

"Come here." The Doctor pulled her into his embrace, calming her distress. "It was so traumatic for you your mind pushed the memories towards the back of your head to keep you from going insane." He paused. "I'll have to buy Mickey a drink sometime."

"I thought for sure the only thing I wanted tonight was for you to love me, but when you touched me all I could see was Jimmy, how he...I'm so sorry." She buried her face in his chest.

"Hey." He stopped her. "There's nothing to be sorry about, we'll get through this. You're having a hard time trusting. You saved me, so it's about time I saved you. We'll take it slow, okay?" Rose looked up at him through her tears and nodded. The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows, remembering something.

"If you want I can suppress those memories again." Rose shook her head.

"No, I need, _I want_ us to work through this. If I love you, I want you to love me back, with my mind whole. Besides, if the memories ever came back we'd have to go through this all over again." The Doctor nodded in agreement. As much as he wanted to take away her pain, she was right. As he pulled her towards the door, he grasped her hand in his tightly.

Rose sighed and glanced at him cautiously. How would he react if she revealed her one remaining secret?

* * *

Jack was surprised to see them both come out fully clothed, but also to see distinct tear tracks on Rose's face.

* * *

No words were spoken regarding the previous night, not even from Jack. Albeit he was disappointed that his two favorite people in the world didn't get together after all his hard work, but nevertheless, the next morning he strode into the console room with a smile on his face. He had just made a decision, and it felt right.

"Don't you ever sleep?" He spoke to the Doctor working deep under the console.

"Had a lot to think about." He said, taking on his gruff tone that Jack hadn't heard in a while.

"Yeah, so did I." He leaned on the console but stood right back up again when he saw Rose come in. She was wearing a sky blue tight-fitting t-shirt with a v-neck exposing the dark pink tank top she wore underneath, and dark wash blue jeans with faded spots on her small thighs. To top it all off, a gold necklace with a heart emblem sat still on her chest. A pink flower hair pin was placed in her hair among waves of blond curls cascading around her shoulders.

_"Spring time in human form." _Jack thought fondly of his friend.

"So, where are we going today?" She spoke suddenly and loudly.

THUNK! A large thump came from under the console. A second later the Doctor came out, rubbing his sore head with a slight flush on his face

"Didn't hear ya come in Rose." His hearts thudded wildly in his chest at her attractive attire. Rose just giggled and placed a hand over her mouth, covering her signature smile the Doctor knew she was wearing.

Jack was trying hard not to laugh himself. They were behaving like two love-sick teenagers, head over heels. Nevertheless it felt just a bit too awkward for him.

"You never answered the lady's question Doc."

"First, don't call me 'Doc'. Second, I figured Rose should pick today." Rose's mouth opened in a surprise grin before Jack stopped her, remembering what he had decided last night.

"Actually, I was thinking you better drop me back off in Paris." Rose's smile quickly disappeared.

"Why?" Even the Doctor was curious.

"I had a lot of time to think while you guys were off fighting the Josnians. I realized I did a lot of damage while I was being mind-controlled. I nearly killed you Rose."

"But that wasn't you." Rose reminded him.

"Still, those people need me. I'll hang around Cardiff in a few years' time, meet up with you then."

"As you wish Jack." The Doctor moved to the console and set them back down on Earth.

"Do you have to?" Rose asked him.

"'Fraid so Blondie." He embraced her. "Take care of yourself, will ya?" Rose sniffed tears back.

"I'll try, and you, don't get yourself killed." The Doctor tensed up, knowing she didn't know the Bad Wolf had made him immortal. But Jack stayed silent, much to his relief.

"And I'll clean up the mess the Josnians caused, get the power outlet back on, etcetera etcetera. Don't worry about me, I've got lots to do." The Doctor nodded and Rose still looked downcast. The TARDIS thumped, signaling they had landed.

"Goodbye you two lovebirds." Jack waved at them as he stepped outside the TARDIS and into the bright, morning daylight of Paris, France, 1999.

"And good luck." He whispered, turning around for one last look at the TARDIS fading from sight.

* * *

**Before you ask, Rose's ordeal with Jimmy _may_ or _may not_ have anything to do with what she's hiding, but the main reason I wrote this is because I just can't see her dropping out of school for a mere bloke. She's smart, capable and independent, why would she just throw it all away for a stupid boy who wasn't even worth the trouble? This makes a lot more sense :) PLUS, if I were Rose I'd totally hide it from the Doctor too, it's not an easy topic to bring up, especially if the Oncoming Storm is your traveling partner...  
**

**_Next: The Doctor takes Rose somewhere Ten should have taken her _:P_ And the beginning of our plot is ever approaching!_  
**


	10. Plummeting Into Silent Darkness

**I feel so bad that the chapters are shorter than I anticipated...today's is a bit longer tho. Btw, do you guys all read my story/review at once? Haha I always get the notifications around the same time :D  
**

**Thought of the day: Ever realise Jackie sometimes talks like Yoda? Lol  
**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters/places/sentient ships/all-powerful beings belong to the BBC, not me.  
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**By the way, I changed my avatar on my profile, do you like it? Isn't she just flawless? *dies*  
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Chapter 10: Plummeting into Silent Darkness

_"Goodbye you two lovebirds." Jack waved at them as he stepped outside the TARDIS and into the bright, morning daylight of Paris, France, 1999._

_"And good luck." He whispered, turning around for one last look at the TARDIS fading from sight._

"I'm gonna miss him." Rose said as they reentered the vortex.

"Me too, much as I hate to admit it. Handy having him around." He paused.

"Just us two then?" He let a small grin creep on his face.

"Yup." Rose smiled back at him.

"Good." He remembered his earlier question. "So, where do you want to go?" Rose thought for a minute.

"I've had enough of Earth for a while. New alien planet?"

"Done. I've got just the thing."

Once the TARDIS had landed, the Doctor took Rose's hand and led her outside.

"The planet Barcelona. Feature attraction is their dogs with no noses."

"Really?" Rose said, laughing, releasing her hand from his to lean on his shoulders dramatically.

"That never gets old." He replied, walking forward. Rose chased after him and linked her arm with his, feeling more content than she had in a while. But there still was that tingling in the back of her head that refused to go away...

* * *

Ten minutes later, she had puppies with no noses all over her. She laughed as they bombarded her with the doggy cuteness that only puppies can do. The Doctor stood aways off, watching her fondly, the way her curls bounced around her shoulders, her bright giggles...

Suddenly he felt a presence behind him. He spun around and saw an extremely old lady with nearly black eyes staring at him. Once she connected with his gaze, she looked at Rose and whispered ominously.

"Falling, falling. Forever falling into a pit of silence." The Doctor's face filled with concern, but when he blinked, she was gone. His hearts quickened in anxiety. The Barcelonians had rumours of shapeshifter/fortune tellers dwelling on the planet, obviously he had just met one. Rose's fate must be in more danger than he had originally thought if one of them would bother with telling him something that ominous. He suddenly wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

"Rose, come on, we're leaving." He quickly strode over and pulled her up, puppies tumbling around his feet. To his shock Rose merely stared blankly into space.

"Rose? Rose!" He yelled as he gently shook her out of her stupor. She looked up in surprise as if seeing him for the first time, before her eyes registered recognition.

"Doctor?" Her confused look sent shivers down his spine. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused.

"Come on, I'm taking you home." Jackie might be able to shed some light on the subject about what Rose was hiding from him. Rose didn't say a word as the Doctor led her back to the TARDIS.

* * *

"No, I have no idea what she would want to keep from you. You're her whole life now." Jackie sighed, staring at Rose watching EastEnders on the telly, which the Doctor thought was strange because of how vehemently Rose had told him she never wanted to watch television again after the day he showed her the Galtona star exploding. The Doctor frowned as he leaned against the kitchen counter, watching her through the opening into the living room.

"I bet she caught some alien disease traveling with you." Jackie said bitterly. "All those dangers and she doesn't even blink. I wouldn't be surprised if-"

"Jackie!" He yelled. She stopped her ranting and looked at him. The Doctor glanced at Rose to see if she had heard. She didn't. He lowered his voice anyway. "What happened that night she broke up with Jimmy Stone?" He flinched even hearing that name come out of his mouth. Even Jackie seemed to blanch at the subject.

"Oh it was terrible. That jackass attacked her, gave her a concussion and worse. If Mickey hadn't been there he woulda killed 'er."

"Wait, a concussion?"

"Yeah, and three broken ribs. Landed herself in the hospital, she did. Nearly went into a coma." At this the Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver out from his pocket.

"Enough messing about." He grumbled to himself. He stomped into the living room and knelt in front of Rose. It took her a few seconds, but when she noticed him she smiled, but it quickly turned into a frown when she saw the sonic in his hand.

"No!" She went to leap up but the Doctor grabbed her wrist, hard.

"Ow!" She cried out as the Doctor forced her back down.

"Stop hiding things from me Rose Tyler." Her eyes grew wide in fear as his scanning began.

"You're 'urting me." She said softly. He released her wrist where a bruise was beginning to form.

"Sorry." He threw her an apologetic look but kept his other hand on her shoulder to keep her from moving until he was done.

Finally he laid the sonic down and looked her right in the eyes.

"Rose, tell me what's wrong." He gave her a look that brooked no argument. Rose looked about ready to give in but then her eyes flashed angrily and she shoved the Doctor backwards, causing him to fall on his behind. She stood up and ran to her room.

"There's nothing wrong with me!" She yelled.

"Rose, what are you hiding from me?" He shouted back but the only reply he got was the loud SLAM of her bedroom door.

Jackie shook her head, seeing everything from her spot in the doorway to the kitchen. The Doctor put his head in his hands and yelled out in frustration. Why didn't she trust him with her problems? Surely she believed he could help her, right?

Rose collapsed on her bed and began sobbing at what she saw as the Doctor's betrayal of her privacy.

"Doctor, what were the results?" Jackie sat in the chair Rose had been sitting in moments ago. The Doctor look at her, confusion and hurt in his eyes.

"The results were inconclusive." He stood up. "I'll have to force her to the TARDIS' medical bay. Even then I'm not sure if it'll work." He gazed towards Rose's room. "I'll have to drag her in kicking and screaming." He sighed. "I really, _really_ don't want to do that." Jackie stood up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"One summer, she and her friends went off exploring England. Gone for three and a half weeks they were. Rose said they did everything from riding on a Ferris Wheel to horseback riding. When she came back she slept for nearly a week. Mickey couldn't even get her out of bed." She gave him a half smile. "She may have a lot of energy, but get her tired, extremely worn-out, and you could do anything to her." Her smiled hardened. "But don't get any ideas." She waved her fist at him menacingly. He flinched.

"But I've never seen her tired enough to not care what I do to her. Do you know how long that's gonna take?" Jackie lowered her hand.

"As long as it takes. Just make her better Doctor." One single tear fell down her face. She wiped it away quickly.

"I'll do all that's within my power, and believe me, that's a lot." He walked over to Rose's door and knocked on it softly.

"Go away." she yelled.

"Rose, I'm sorry, you're right. I'm overreacting. The sonic says there's nothing wrong with you. Now how about we go on a few adventures?" After a few moments Rose slowly opened her door. The Doctor frowned at seeing her eyes red from crying.

"Really?" She sniffed.

"The Doctor and Rose in the TARDIS, saving the universe, just like always." He paused, lowering his voice so Jackie couldn't hear. "I can't do this without you." He felt so guilty for saying it with an ulterior motive, but right now the most important thing to him was saving the woman he loved. She had saved him from his destructive thoughts and tendencies after the Time War. She had healed him from a broken and bitter man, and it was time he did the same for her. It just crushed him that he was forced to lie to her, especially at this point in their relationship.

"Okay." She finally said. With a forced grin, the Doctor gripped her hand in his tightly and together they walked back to the TARDIS.

* * *

And so the Doctor took her everywhere, from the twin circus planets of Tacklione, to the ocean beaches of Jamaica, to Steve Perry's doorstep in 1981.

_"It's Steve Perry Rose! Don't tell me you've never wanted to meet the lead singer of Journey before."_

_ "Yeah."_

_ "Yeah, that's all you can say? Blimey Journey released some of the greatest music ever written and all you can come up with is yeah?"_

With each passing journey Rose retreated more and more into herself. She spoke less, and when the Doctor asked her something she used as little words as possible. Even her eyes seemed to be fading of the light that kept her going. She became less attentive and her curiosity plummeted. It was as if she was dying a slow, painful process from the inside.

But still she managed to stay awake so the Doctor kept her going, even long after she should have been asleep. By his estimation it'd been nearly three days. Usually by now she'd be begging for some down time, and not just stare at him blankly no matter what he said.

"The Rolling Stones, live in concert?" The Doctor's fingers posed over the controls of the TARDIS. "The twelve sunsets of Morianu 6? The endless gardens of the moon of Keysor?" But no matter what he said, Rose remained sitting on his captain's chair, a blank expression devoid of all emotion. She wouldn't even look at him, much less say a word.

In his hearts the Doctor believed he had finally lost her completely.

In a last desperate move the Doctor made a quick decision and in no time the TARDIS stood waiting in its' newest destination.

"Welcome to Chicago, Illinois, 1981." The Doctor continued to speak to her as if nothing was wrong, missing her bright eyes sparkling in overflowing curiosity and her laugh, pure and innocent. This silence was worse than death. Well, not really. But it was close.

* * *

The Doctor stood a few feet away, watching his Rose as she stared dully into the foggy sky. He didn't know why he had brought her here, it was just the first place he had thought of, somewhere busy, bright and exciting, enough to make her want to do something, say something, anything!

He was unsure whether or not to hold her hand or give some other kind of physical comfort. He didn't want to think about what might be happening to her. Did she contract a virus that slowly drained away her energy? Had a parasitic life-form attached to her and had slowly taken her life force? Did the traumatic memories of Jimmy's abuse coming back send her into a living coma?

He shook his head. He had to stay focused. His only goal right now was to get Rose so tired she'd nearly collapse and not object when he took her to the Medical Bay on the TARDIS, where he could conduct more thorough scans than his sonic could. She was almost there, hopefully Chicago would be enough to send her over the-

Suddenly something in his pockets started to beep loudly. With a startled jump, he began searching through his pockets, cursing their ability to be bigger on the inside. But at least he had no junk in his pockets, being a practical man. Just...stuff that he had acquired over the past two years.

"Six screws, a fob watch, Rose's..._ahem_, a banana, no wait, two bananas, a hammer, Jack's..._eww_, 12 credits, Hitler's paintbrush, the rest of the Sapphire Potion..."

As he continued to look for the incessant beeping item, he failed to notice Rose was no longer by his side.

* * *

**This chapter bugged me to no end! I think the plot moves too quickly, at the beginning she's fine, next she's completely gone. I originally had this as two separate chapters but then they're both wayy too short on their own. This chapter is supposed to span over a week or more, and her condition rapidly deteriorates with each passing hour.  
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******_Next: Rose is in serious danger, someone important to the plot makes an appearance, and the Doctor's tough exterior suddenly fails on him._**

**(I LOVE JOURNEY! I would DIE to meet Steve Perry! XD)  
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	11. Deafening Silence

**Thanks for all the feedback! I wasn't going to update until tomorrow but I got six reviews for this chapter already and one of them was extra long (Pennie Laine: ULTRAHUG)  
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**_Chapter 11 r__ated T for violence, minor language and assault._  
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Chapter 11 – Deafening Silence

_The Doctor didn't know why he had brought Rose here to Chicago in 1981, it was just the first place he had thought of, somewhere busy, bright and exciting._

_Suddenly something in his pockets started to beep loudly. With a startled jump, he began searching through his pockets, cursing their ability to be bigger on the inside. As he continued to look for the incessant beeping item, he failed to notice Rose was no longer by his side._

* * *

The Doctor had guessed right, the flashing lights in the city around her helped Rose a bit, enough of a spark to want to go exploring. She blinked her eyes slowly as she gazed around the enormous city of Chicago. Either she had completely forgotten or simply didn't care that the Doctor was no longer by her side. In fact, she looked devoid of all emotion itself.

She passed by coffee shops, clothing stores, and locally owned cafes without anything registering on her face. People threw weird looks at her, but she didn't even acknowledge them, only continued walking. Without thinking, she wandered down a dark, dangerous-looking alley. Passing by a garbage bin, she flinched in just a hint of fright when three men stepped out on all sides of her.

"Oh look, what a pretty little thing." One of the men spoke with a raspy voice. "She must have been looking for fun if she wandered down here." Rose's eyes grew wide in fear but still her mouth stayed shut.

"What's your name Foxy?" The second man asked, his breath reeking of alcohol. "Ooh a silent one, even more fun. No one will hear her scream."

"I'm more interested on why she would want to cover up something like this." The third man grabbed the top of her camisole and let it go, snapping against her chest. The loud noise seemed to send another spark of life through Rose's body. She jumped back, tears running down her face but unable to cry for help. It felt like Jimmy all over again, but this time three times worse, and it scared the hell out of her. Why couldn't she scream?

* * *

The Doctor had found what had been making the incredibly annoying beeping sound, and he realized that somehow Rose's phone had slipped into his pocket. He looked at the screen and saw that she had a few missed calls.

"Rose, I think your mum is trying-" He turned to where she had been standing but to his horror realized that she was no longer there, or anywhere in sight.

"Rose!" He yelled, taking off. He looked down every street but there was no sign of her. Without speech, she could get lost, hurt, or worse...

He pulled a picture he had of her out of his pocket and showed it to a couple people walking down one of the streets.

"She might have been acting kind of funny, you know, like...out of it."

"Yeah, that might have been her, she went down that way." He continued to race down the streets, hoping to catch a sight of her bleached blond hair, but with no luck.

He stopped suddenly as he heard a crash down one of the alleys. He ran down it and immediately sprang into action at what he found. He pulled the first man off of Rose, who was sitting on the cold ground shivering in her bra and jeans. He roughly turned the man around and threw him into the wall, his head viciously cracking against the wall. The other two were so surprised at the Doctor's rage that they tried to run off but only the second one got away.

The Doctor slammed the last man against the brick wall, grabbing him with one hand in a locking grip around his throat. The Doctor's voice was laced with restrained anger as he tried his best to keep his violent actions in check.

"The only reason you're alive," he whispered dangerously, his powerful fingers digging into the man's neck. "is for the sake of that huddled figure over there, the most beautiful, compassionate, courageous and loyal woman I've ever met. The one you assaulted." His tempestuous gray eyes clearly showed he truly was The Oncoming Storm, and the man within his grasp was truly afraid for his life. He clawed at the Doctor's hand weakly, his constricted breath coming in short rasps. The Doctor just held him tighter, raising him a bit so his feet dangled above the ground.

"If I ever see you again even on the same street as her, you better pray to God that I'm not there too, or you'll be meeting Him." He threw the man as hard as he could away from Rose. The man took off further down the alley as if his feet were on fire, not even daring to look back.

The Doctor collapsed at Rose's side and gazed into her fear-filled eyes as she shivered violently, tears coming in steady streams down her face.

"Oh Rose." He hugged her to himself as her body shook with silent sobs. He was immensely angry at himself at what he had let happen to her, yet surprised that she was showing emotion, albeit negative.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered into her ear repeatedly as he rocked her back and forth. Still she remained silent, and the Doctor wished now more than ever to hear her voice that he hadn't heard in so, so long.

"We have to get out of here." He told her as he began to pull her up. As soon as they were upright, Rose began to sway and immediately collapsed unconscious into the Doctor's arms. Without a second thought he put her head on his shoulder and put his other arm under her knees. He clenched his jaw determinedly and took a deep breath as he carried his love back to his home. No, _their_ home.

* * *

The Doctor rubbed his face wearily. He hated being in this position; it reminded him too much of when he had to sit and wait by Rose's unconscious side after she had absorbed the Bad Wolf.

And again he had no idea what was wrong with her. He gazed at her sadly, sleeping silently on the TARDIS' med table. The Doctor had gone searching into Rose's closet, until he found a light purple button-up blouse with ruffle sleeves, one that he particularly liked on her. She lay there wearing it now, covering the vicious bruises on her stomach and chest that she had received because of his stupid mistake to take her to Chicago. Chicago indeed, in 1981 no less! Was he a bloomin' idiot? He swore he heard Jackie's voice in his head.

_"Jackie!" _Remembering Rose's cell phone, he pulled it back out of his pocket and stared at it fondly. This wasn't the phone Rose had when he first met her, he had _accidentally_ destroyed her previous one by testing to see how much sonic residue it could hold. It couldn't hold much, but Rose was grateful for the chance to get a new cell.

He scrolled into the contacts and let the button hover over _Mum_. What could he possibly say to her? That Rose had nearly been sexually assaulted because of him? That she couldn't speak, hear or comprehend anything? That he didn't know what was wrong with her?

He threw the phone away angrily, clattering against the TARDIS' floor. No, Jackie would have to wait.

His large ears perked up like a dog when he heard the TARDIS buzzing softly in his head, sending him impulses and images. Nodding, he stood up and walked over to the door.

"Yes, you're right. It's been way too long since we've refueled you at the rift. Now's as good a time as any."

_"And off we go, into time and space!"_

The Doctor suddenly halted upon reaching the doorway. He turned around and looked back at Rose's silent, sleeping form, as if she lay on Death's door. He clenched his fist and swallowed a sick feeling in his mouth, before turning back around and leaving the Med Bay.

* * *

The TARDIS made a soft thump as she landed in Cardiff.

"Status?" The comforting buzz in reply told him that Rose was fine but her scans weren't done. He gave a small smile at the TARDIS' last thought to him.

"Yes, again you're right. It's been forever since I've tinkered with you and we got to spend some time together. This whole mess with Rose has worn me down to the bone." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and knelt just under her console's screen.

"Alright, but only for five minutes." He smiled as the TARDIS sent him reassuring images of Rose, bright eyed and energetic, along with the message that she would be alright. He got the distinct feeling that the TARDIS missed her just as much as he did. "For both our sakes I hope you're right."

He didn't flinch nor get up when the TARDIS door opened and Captain Jack strolled in nonchalantly.

"Hey Doc, where's Rose?"

"In the Med Bay, wait, Jack!" He yelled to him as Jack immediately ran down the hallway.

"No!" Jack cried, rushing to Rose's side. The Doctor appeared in the doorway and followed him in.

"She's a lot worse than the last time you were here." The Doctor said.

"No damn kidding!" Jack replied. "What happened to her?" He ran a finger lightly over an enormous bruise on her cheekbone. He gasped at the extensive harm done to her beautiful body as he lifted up her blouse and blanched at the bruises on her waist and chest.

"I happened to her Jack."

"What?" Jack spun around, his face a mixture of disbelief and confusion. The Doctor took his hands out of his pockets and growled bitterly. He spat his words as his voice grew in volume.

"Yes Jack, I let this happen to her. I let three weak, human _bastards_ beat her up and nearly kill her, just like I let her lose herself into this horrible silence." His face contorted in self-anger. "I was so selfish! I just _had_ to keep her by my side, expect her to love a broken fool like me, all the while putting her in danger greater than anything I can protect her from." He gestured towards Rose and Jack softened his gaze, knowing the Doctor still wasn't done. The Doctor's voice dropped down to a normal level, his every word shaky.

"I miss her Jack, I miss her more than anything. How is that possible? I lost all of Gallifrey but I'd rather hear Rose's melodic voice, just to put the bright spot in my day again." He paused, fighting his rushing emotions. He looked away from Jack's eyes full of pity, hating that his tough facade was crumbling. "I miss her shining brown eyes, her laughter like an angel's, her smile brighter than any super nova." He suddenly snapped. "She's the greatest thing that ever happened to me, and no matter what I do, I can't stop her being taken away from me!" He turned around and slammed his fist against the wall, the noise reverberating around the room. Without another word he departed out of the Med Bay. He stomped down the hall, mortified at the tears coming down his face but unable to stop them, feeling the lowest he had ever been.

After he had left, Jack sighed sorrowfully and ran his smooth fingers through the long blond curls cascading down Rose's shoulders and chest, her serene features looking like an angelic specter.

"Oh Rose, can't you see how much he needs you?"

* * *

The Doctor continued to race down the hallway until he reached a door, one he hadn't stood in front of since before he met Rose. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and entered into the One Room.

He had originally created the One Room to replace the Zero Room that had been destroyed in his Fifth regeneration, but found it was a perfect place to keep his memories of Gallifrey alive. The One Room wasn't exactly the most creative name, but he did find himself at peace and at_ One_ whenever he resided in here.

The Doctor took off his boots and socks and set them by the entrance so he could feel the holographic red grass gather and flow beneath his feet. Just like when he was young, except it was the real deal back then.

He continued to walk until he came up to his favorite tree, the one on a hill that overlooked the entire Citadel. He brushed away a few silver leaves that had fallen to the ground and sat underneath the tree's shadow,. After a few seconds he changed his mind and moved a few feet away and into the twin sunlights. He collapsed on his back and closed his eyes to the artificial rays of Gallifrey's twin suns.

He neither flinched nor opened his eyes when he heard Jack sit down beside him. The Captain uttered not a word, but instead gazed at the beauty of the Citadel hundreds of feet below them. The Doctor took a deep breath and released it slowly.

"How long has it been since you left for Paris?" The Doctor asked him, keeping his eyes closed.

"Eleven years." Jack replied, smiling sadly. "Started to get a bit worried." He paused. "Guess I had a good reason to."

"She's deteriorated so much in these last few weeks, and I couldn't do anything to stop it." They both were silent, until the Doctor opened his eyes, letting them roam the orange sky.

"Why must I lose everything Jack? First I lost my wife and our adult son, then I lose Susan, all of my home planet and now Rose." Jack was quiet for a moment, contemplating.

"I think it happens to everyone who lives forever." The Doctor sat up and suddenly felt more compassionate towards his friend who knew a portion of what he was going through. "You live for hundreds of years, and pretty soon everything gets taken away from you." Jack stood up. "I'm gonna go back and be with Rose for a bit, haven't seen her in over a decade." The Doctor nodded and Jack left the One Room.

The Doctor sat where he was, imagining the Citadel to be populated with thousands of Time Lords and Ladies, and not a computer generated hologram designed by his own hand.

* * *

**Sad Doctor makes me wanna cry :'( If anybody could shake the Doctor up that much, it'd be Rose.  
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**I love Rose's hair in curls and waves, don't get me wrong I like it straight too, but Billie could pretty much play an angel with her hair like that.  
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**_Next Chapter: Rose's results come in, Jack has a good idea, we see a familiar place and familiar foes! _(A lot to fit into one chapter huh? :D)  
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	12. The Remedy

**Sorry it took me a while to update, I had to re-watch parts of _New Earth_ and _Rose_ to get the correct details/dialogue.  
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* * *

Chapter 12 – The Remedy

_The Doctor sat in the One Room, gazing at the Gallifreyan Citadel and imagining it to be populated with thousands of Time Lords and Ladies, not a computer generated hologram designed by his own hand._

* * *

The Doctor had fallen asleep, his head surrounded by blades of red grass, dreaming of a very much-alive Rose, when suddenly he felt the TARDIS telling him that Rose's scans were complete. He leapt up and took off for the Med Bay, grabbing his socks and boots and throwing them on.

He entered the room and saw Jack standing by Rose's side with a grave look on his face. Moving to the screen, his hearts leapt into his throat.

_"Results inconclusive, please seek outside medical advisory."_

"Damn it!" The Doctor shouted, slamming his hand forcefully on the screen. "You _are_ a medical advisory, _I'm_ the Doctor, tell me what's wrong with her!" He went to slam it again but Jack stopped him.

"Doctor, stop! Getting angry's not gonna help her. Why can't we take her to an alien hospital, ones that are designed for things like this?" The Doctor stopped. The thought had never occurred to him. Without a word he took off for the TARDIS console room, Jack close behind on his heels.

* * *

"I hate hospitals." The Doctor muttered as they entered the front lobby, the glass doors sliding shut behind them.

"Funny to hear that coming from you." Jack replied as a cat nurse wheeled out a stretcher for the Doctor to place Rose on.

"They give me the creeps." The Doctor whispered. "Especially this one." He looked around warily.

"Doesn't matter." Jack replied as they took her away to be examined. "Surely these cat nuns can find what's wrong with Rose."

"Hopefully."

* * *

The Doctor stood looking out the window at the flying cars soaring by on the planet of New Earth.

_"Wish Rose could see this. Complete opposite of where I took her on our first trip."_ He frowned, remembering his selfish reasoning behind letting Rose watch the Earth burn, just like Gallifrey had. He held so much pain in his heart back then, and he wanted her to feel a small portion of what he had gone through. He even thought that her puny brain couldn't process one iota of what had happened to him. Boy was he wrong. Not only did she understand, in her beautiful way she made him who he was today: a much better, kinder Time Lord than he had ever been before the Time War.

Taking her to Platform One was a cruel and selfish thing to do. The only good that came out of it was their 'first date' with chips that followed soon afterward.

_"Chips it is and you can pay."_

_"No money!"_

_"What sort of date are you? Well come on then tightwad, chips are on me. Only got five billion years until the shops close."  
_

But he still wished he hadn't put her through that. He remembered her depressed expression as they left Platform One. Her empty eyes as she looked up into the blue sky in her time.

_"You think it will last forever. People, cars and concrete. But it won't. One day it's all gone. Even the sky. My planet's gone."_

Thankfully his thoughts were interrupted by footsteps behind him. Jack placed a hand on the Doctor's shoulder and whispered secretly in his ear.

"Doctor, something's not right here. See that man over there?" He gestured to a rather large man on the other side of the room, sitting on one of the medical beds, and holding a glass in celebration, his ginormous face lost in a wide grin.

"Yeah?" The Doctor whispered back.

"He had petrifold regression this morning."

"But he looks fine to me."

"Exactly. Should have taken months of medication which still wouldn't stop him from turning into a statue in the end." The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows.

"You're right." He agreed. "Their means of medicine is way beyond its' time." He shook his head. "But we'll have to investigate later. Our priority right now is Rose Tyler."

"Have they let you see her yet?" He raised his voice to a normal level.

"No, still doing tests."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I just can't stand here the whole time worrying about her." He lowered his voice to a whisper again. "I'm gonna go around and ask some more of the patients about their treatments, maybe get a nurse to show me what's in that solution." He chucked and slapped the Doctor's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll stay out of trouble." Without another word he disappeared, and the Doctor resumed his vigilant watch out the window, his thoughts never leaving his Rose, how they danced in the TARDIS, their "first date", both the one with chips and the one in Paris, and other fond memories.

* * *

Two hours later Jack burst into the room where Rose had been under examination. He found the Doctor rubbing his temples as he sat beside her, holding a piece of paper in his hand.

"Well, what's wrong with her?" He frowned. Had she grown even more pale and lifeless in two hours?

"They're not exactly sure, but for some reason it looks like her DNA is destabilizing. Her body can't handle it, it's slowly shutting down."

"How are they gonna stop it?"

"I don't know, but Nurse Faye said they've scrapped together a sort of remedy, that even if we get in time, only has a twenty percent chance of any sort of recovery."

"What's the remedy?" The Doctor handed him the piece of paper that Nurse Faye had given him.

"You've got to be kidding me!" His jaw dropped in disbelief. "Do you even know where to get half of these things?"

"My mind's been dwelling on it for a while now. It will take us a long time, most likely some danger, but we can do it, I can do it, for her."

"Then I'm in." The Doctor stood up and stroked Rose's cheek, whispering so Jack couldn't hear.

_"I'll save you Rose. Just don't leave me."_ He turned to Jack, a determined look on his face. Jack nodded once at him and they took off for the TARDIS.

* * *

"What's the first item on the list Jack?" The Doctor ran up to the console while Jack shut the door, grabbing the list the Doctor had given him earlier from his pocket.

"Something called 'Jintonium'. What is that anyway?" The Doctor's face hardened.

"It's the chief element in Dalekanium."

"_Dalek_anium? As in _Dalek_? Why on Earth does Rose need that and where are we gonna get it?"

"It will help protect her body from viruses she might get when...if she started recovering." He stopped talking for a moment, his hands flying over the controls. "Before you met us," He continued. "I took Rose to an underground alien museum where the TARDIS had received a distress signal. It was a lone Dalek, one that had fallen, the supposed last survivor of the Time War."

"But it wasn't." Jack said gravely, remembering when the three of them were up against a whole Dalek fleet, before the Bad Wolf destroyed them all. "What happened to the Dalek?"

"Rose did." The Doctor chuckled ironically. "In her own beautiful way, she accidentally used her DNA to physically change the Dalek. It chose death over becoming like her."

"And how does that help us?"

"We need to find a trace, any trace of Jintonium left in Van Statten's museum. It's a rare element that we could probably get somewhere else, but this is the quickest and surest way."

"_Henry_ Van Statten's museum? I've heard of him, billionaire alien junk collector who suddenly disappears and his underground museum's top floor filled with cement. How are we going to get in?" The Doctor raised his eyebrows at him, his finger tapping the console.

"Oh yeah. The TARDIS, duh."

* * *

After the TARDIS had landed, the Doctor reached under the console and tossed an oxygen mask to Jack.

"The place has been holed up without air for years, or months, if I got my landing correct." He explained, putting his own mask on.

But as the Doctor opened the doors, they stepped out in shock. Jack ripped off his mask and the Doctor did the same.

They were under a cloudy gray sky standing on a heap of rubble that was once Van Statten's beloved museum. They turned at a sound behind them.

"IT IS THE DOCTOR, IT IS THE DOCTOR! EXTERMINATE EXTERMINATE _EXTERMINATE!"_

* * *

**Yes I am aware I am making up my own elements. BITE ME. ;)  
**

**_Next: Our favorite heroes are in a pickle..._DUH! ;D  
**


	13. Sabotage!

**I didn't take very many science classes in school. If the thought of Jintonium being part of Dalekanium comes out completely rubbish(which I completely understand) I wrote up an alternate storyline:**

**Jintonium is an alien element unknown to humans in the 21st century, except to(that's right) Van Statten. He had a large amount of it archived at his museum, hence why the Doctor and Jack need to go there. The Doctor researched on the TARDIS' computer console and found that important bit of info. The Doctor then explained to Jack why he took Rose there, discovering the Dalek, and how it destroyed itself. Ignore the parts that refer to Dalekanium in this next chapter if you wish, I'm just too lazy to change it now.  
**

* * *

Chapter 13 – Sabotage

_As the Doctor opened the doors to the TARDIS, they stepped out in shock. They were under a cloudy gray sky standing on a heap of rubble that was once Van Statten's beloved museum. They turned at a sound behind them._

_"IT IS THE DOCTOR, IT IS THE DOCTOR! EXTERMINATE EXTERMINATE **EXTERMINATE!"**_

* * *

"Well, at least it will be easier to find the Jintonium." Jack whispered to the Doctor as they both raised their hands. The Doctor's look of shock soon passed to one of anger. How were the Daleks able to somehow survive the Bad Wolf's hand of destruction?

But as he remembered Rose, he was reminded of her condition. So instead he assessed the situation, his mind racing with plans of escape while still getting the Jintonium.

There were only two Daleks by the look of it, and they weren't in prime condition, just like the one that had destroyed itself here at Van Statten's museum. He identified one Dalek as the leader of the two. It stood in front of them, ordering the other one about.

"WE HAVE FOUND TRACES OF ONE OF OUR KIND." The leader said, directing his eye piece towards the Doctor and Jack. "TELL US WHAT YOU DID WITH IT!"

"The Dalek destroyed itself." The Doctor said calmly.

"WHY?" The Dalek shifted to look directly at him.

"Its' DNA was changing." Jack was surprised at how level the Doctor's tone was.

"BY WHAT?"

"A human touch. The Dalek was dying."

"AND WHERE IS THIS HUMAN NOW?"

"Dead." They would have to exterminate him before they got any information about Rose.

"EXTERMINATED BY OUR KIND."

"Naturally." Jack added, a bit sarcastically.

"There is nothing for you here anymore." The Doctor addressed them. "Why are you still on this planet?" He could tell by their state that they were in no condition to conquer the planet. The second one could barely move. He suspected they were both dying.

"OUR WORK HERE IS DONE. THIS PLANET IS NOT WORTH OUR TROUBLE. YOU HOWEVER, ARE THE SWORN ENEMY OF THE DALEK EMPIRE."

"The Dalek Empire?" The Doctor laughed in their face. "I watched the literal fall of the _glorious empire_ at the hands of the Bad Wolf." The Daleks drew back suddenly. "That's right, you've heard of the Bad Wolf, haven't you?"

"WE ARE AWARE OF THE FABLES WOVEN THROUGH TIME, HOW SHE DESTROYED THE EMPEROR WITH ONLY A WAVE OF HER HAND."

"So you weren't there?"

"THERE WERE THREE OF US, TRAPPED IN THE TIME VORTEX AFTER THE TIME WAR. BUT ONE OF US FELL TO THIS PLANET. WE HAVE COME FOR ITS' REMAINS, WHICH WE HAVE DONE SO ALREADY."Suddenly the Doctor felt a strange tingle at the pit of his stomach. Jack felt it too.

"Doctor I think we're being-" He was cut off as he, the Doctor and the two Daleks disappeared into thin air.

"-transported." Jack finished as they reappeared.

They were inside the Dalek ship.

"It's decrepit." The Doctor wrinkled his nose at the state of their new surroundings. Jack jumped forward as something behind him sparked dangerously.

"Why did they bring us up here?" He whispered to the Time Lord. "Or more importantly, why haven't we been exterminated yet?" They both straightened up as the two Daleks rolled into the room. The leader turned to the Doctor, speaking in its' trademark emotionless voice.

"YOU ARE WELL-VERSED IN DALEK TECHNOLOGY, ARE YOU NOT?"

"I guess so." The Doctor shrugged, a bit nervous. What were they planning?

"THEN I ORDER YOU TO REPAIR MY WEAPONS' DISCHARGER, AND NUMBER 2'S EYESTALK." The Doctor looked closely at the two Daleks and confirmed what the number 1 had said. The leader's discharger was bent at a strange angle and twitched every so often, as if it was a human being cradling a broken arm. The other one's eyestalk was devoid of the blue light that displayed its' eyesight. Well, that explained why it hardly moved.

"I will discuss this with my companion."

"NO!" The Dalek tried in vain to move its discharger again. "YOU WILL REPAIR US!"

"Nevertheless, you cannot kill me, as I am the only one who can fix your problems. I will do as I please." He motioned for Jack to move over to him and away from the Daleks quivering in rage.

"You called me your companion, does that mean I'm finally welcome aboard?" Jack grinned at the Doctor despite their situation.

"We can use this for our advantage." The Doctor whispered, ignoring Jack's cheeky comment.

"How so?" He was suddenly alert, his smile replaced by a determined look.

"Sabotage."

"Oh, of course." Jack paused. "You know I'm gonna die at least once for this."

"We have to use anything we have to our advantage." Jack rolled his eyes.

"Surely they'll suspect us." It was more of a statement than a question.

"They have no choice. Without us, they're defenseless and as good as dead. If I repair them, they'll definitely exterminate us as our reward. We have no other choice. So here's the plan." He glanced back at the Daleks who were vainly trying to fix their broken-down ship. "I'll 'fix' the leader's discharger first. Then when I move to fix the other's eyestalk, you attempt to escape through the ventilation shaft."

"In plain sight."

"Yes. When it tries to kill you, it will backfire and, being by that leaking power outlet," He motioned towards the spot a few feet away. "It will destroy everything, including the ship."

"That's fine for me, but what about you?"

"I'll be fine."

"No, you won't!" Jack exclaimed, a bit too loudly. Lowering his voice, he glared at the Doctor. "If we ever get out of here alive, the last thing Rose needs to see is that you regenerated."

"Don't worry about me, I can survive this."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Mostly." He paused. "You see that console over there?"

"Yeah. Is that the transporter?"

"Yes. But you only have a few seconds."

"I can do it." Jack said reassuringly. The Doctor nodded once, before strolling up to the Dalek leader.

"All right, I'll do it, but I need you over here where the light is best." He walked over near leaking power outlet and took out his sonic screwdriver. The Dalek backed away and the Doctor inwardly smiled at his power of the defenseless pepper pot.

"I'm not gonna 'urt you." He reassured the Dalek. It rolled up slowly.

* * *

It took him about seven minutes. Stealing a glance at Jack, he walked the short distance over to the other one.

Taking the cue, Jack suddenly bolted for the open ventilation shaft in front of the first Dalek.

"EXTERMINATE!" It said on instinct, before firing its' weapon.

True to the Doctor's word the shot backfired and everything seemed to happen at once. The Dalek gave a sharp cry of shock as it exploded, catching the second Dalek in a burst of flame. Jack dove for the transporter near the ventilation shaft, his hand slamming on it just as the explosion hit his back. The Doctor dove to the ground, also feeling the force of the blow.

Two unconscious bodies were transported back to Earth, just as the Dalek ship exploded.

* * *

_**Next: ...Well you'll have to wait and see :O**_

**I would have made this chapter longer, but it would totally mess up the next three or so chapters in length. REVIEW OR BE EXTERMINATED! :D  
**


	14. Time Wound

**Making up my own elements again! lol as Loki would say "I do what I want Thor!" xD **

* * *

Chapter 14 – Time Wound

_The Dalek gave a sharp cry of shock as it exploded, catching the second Dalek in a burst of flame. Jack dove for the transporter near the ventilation shaft, his hand slamming on it just as the explosion hit his back. The Doctor dove to the ground, also feeling the force of the blow._

_Two unconscious bodies were transported back to Earth, just as the Dalek ship exploded._

* * *

A few minutes later Jack lifted his head groggily. He spat out dirt from Van Statten's wrecked museum. "Yup, definitely got killed by that one. I hope you're happy." At the Doctor's silence he looked around and saw the Time Lord's slumped form about ten feet away. He jumped up and rushed over to his side, wincing at the shrapnel cuts on his face and neck.

"Come on Doc, don't give up on me now!" He shook him in an attempt to get a reaction. "Show me those superior Time Lord genes you keep bragging about." After a minute the Doctor finally stirred, wincing at the bright light in his face and groaning.

"Don't...call...me Doc." His response made Jack laugh with relief. He stopped as he thought of something.

"Did you get the Jintonium?" The Doctor stayed silent as Jack helped him sit up. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an empty vial. Bracing himself, he plucked a few small pieces of Dalek shrapnel embedded in his face and plopped it into the vial. Jack nodded, grimacing.

"You're not gonna regenerate are you?" He said as the Doctor stood up, looking a little unsteady on his feet.

"No. But I did barely make it out alive. Let's try not to do that again." Shaking his body to get life back into it, he shoved the vial into his leather jacket pocket and entered the TARDIS. Jack took one last look at Van Statten's destroyed museum. With a shake of his head he followed the Doctor inside.

* * *

"Jintonium, check." Jack said, pulling out a pencil. He marked a check mark next to the first item. "Next is...Iso...Isochloric Acid? Where are we going to get that?"

"The Game Station."

"No."

"Yes."

"No! I'm not going back to the Game Station! I spent many, many years there after you two abandoned me."

"I thought you used your vortex manipulator."

"Not at first. I had to clean up the humungous mess you two made, not to mention the years of brainwashing the Games had done to those humans. Overall took me six years before I could leave." The Doctor sighed as he prepared the coordinates. Without looking at him he explained.

"A while back before you met us, just after we met the Dalek in fact, I took Rose and an idiot friend of her's to the Game Station, then known as Satellite Five."

"Rose told me about that. The station was a giant news television broadcaster controlled by a psycho editor."

"The Editor was a pawn of the 'Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Jadrojassic Maxarodenfoe'. They were using dead corpses as their controllers to shape the destiny of Earth."

"Dead corpses? Neurostimulants charged with Isochloric Acid?"

"Yup."

"Well, let's do this then!" Jack held on as the TARDIS began to vibrate upon entering the vortex. Once they had landed the Doctor cautioned his friend.

"We've landed just a few minutes after the top floor has exploded and the younger Rose and I have fled the scene. Be on your toes. We need the Isochloric Acid still active." Jack nodded in understanding and followed the Doctor outside. He shivered as a cold blast hit him.

"This place is a mess. What did you two do?" He leapt away, nearly stepping on a body covered in ice.

"They had it coming." He growled moodily. "Here." He suddenly stopped upon coming up to a mound of rubble. Jack tapped on one of the broken monitors, grimacing in horror as his fingers touched a disgusting pink substance. Trying not to think about what it might have been, he wiped it furiously on his pant leg. The Doctor motioned for the Captain to help him move all the rubble that had piled up over the console.

"Ugh!" Jack cried as he unearthed a head.

"Chill, they've been dead for a while."

"Doesn't matter, dead bodies still give me the creeps, knowing I look like that every time I die. And don't tell me to 'chill'." He shivered again to prove his point. But the Doctor had ignored him and was uncovering the dead girl's hands.

"Aha! The hand controller's still intact!" He used his sonic screwdriver to pop open the top of what the girl's hands were sitting on, revealing a light-green sticky liquid. Grabbing another empty vial, he filled it without any trouble. The Doctor allowed a small smile to reach across his lips.

"You know what Jack, I think we may get through this one without any problems." Silence. "Jack?" He turned around and found a barrel of a phaser gun against his stomach. "You're under arrest." One of the station security men growled. The Doctor raised his hands in the air and glanced at Jack who was glaring at him, another station soldier behind him.

"By what grounds?" The Doctor said. "We've done nothing wrong!"

"This place is a graveyard and you're the only ones here. Plus we're getting some strange reports downstairs. Come on!" He motioned them over to the elevator.

* * *

"This is not good." The Doctor whispered to Jack as they exited on Level 15.

"How so? All you need to do is explain to them about the Editor and the Jagrofess. They'll let us go."

"No, not that." He looked around warily.

"Then what?" But Jack's question was soon answered. "Uh oh." The Doctor turned around and found he was staring into the face of his younger self.

"What the...what the hell?"

* * *

"That's not possible!" The younger Doctor cried. He turned to the officials. "Why am I under arrest?"

"Where's Rose?" The older Doctor addressed his younger self.

"I...I don't know." The younger Doctor replied. "I can't let her see you. This isn't supposed to happen!" Another higher ranking security officer came up to them.

"Reports of the same man both on the upper floor and down here. Interesting." He called over a couple of his subordinates. "Take them to separate holding cells, we'll interrogate them together when the time comes."

"Don't let her see you!" The younger Doctor cried again as he was led off in one direction.

* * *

"This wasn't supposed to happen." The older Doctor told Jack as they were prodded in the other direction. "I never met my older self here, all we did was give our statements and they let us go."

"Obviously having the two of you together has repercussions. Damn and I thought one Doctor was bad enough."

"Rose." The Doctor suddenly stopped and Jack slammed into his back. He was suddenly entranced by her sight about twenty feet away from them. She was just as he remembered her, her red and black jacket, her hair tied up in a pony tail.

"Doctor, you can't speak to her." Jack implored.

"She's so...alive." Her bright eyes, her posture, her mouth twitching in worry. They were all things he hadn't seen in so long. It felt like a breath of air after not breathing for days.

"Doctor!" Rose yelled upon seeing him. She ran up and threw her arms around him. "They took you away and they wouldn't tell me why." The Doctor drew her close and closed his eyes. Remembering their current crisis, he leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"Take Adam back to the TARDIS, and don't leave until I get back." Rose nodded. She cried out as an official dragged her off of him.

"Leave her out of this!" The Doctor yelled at them. He noticed that Rose's gaze had turned to Jack. _"No." _The Doctor tried to step in front of him but it was too late. The security guard released Rose and she shrugged him off, glaring at him like she wanted to kick him in the shin. After one last glance at the Doctor, she ran off towards the TARDIS.

"Doc, she got a good look at me." The Doctor turned around and noticed Jack had a sick look on his face, his eyes glassy and unfocused, his countenance paler than the Doctor had ever seen him. "She recognized me, back when we first met in World War II. She doesn't trust me! Doctor, the past is chang–" He was suddenly cut off as he disappeared into thin air.

Erased from time.

* * *

_ "Hold on, don't I know you?"_

_ "Well I'd sure as hell remember you if we ever met Blondie."_

_ "No you...you were with the Doctor."_

_ "The Doctor, who's the Doctor?"_

_ "Don't lie to me, that was when they arrested him on Satellite Five, and you were there...it must have been your doing, that's why you're lying to me!"_

_ "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."_

_ "Why are you following us? Are you going to kill me?"_

_ "Of course not!"_

_ "Get me off this ship!"_

_ "Rose, settle down, you're talking nonsense!"_

_ "How do you know my name?"_

_ "Because you just told me!"_

_ "You're lying, I never told you my name."_

_ "Yes you did, you're still delirious from the tractor beam."_

_ "Get me off this ship, beam me down now! DOCTOR!"_

* * *

**I never realised I was following episodes, _Dalek,_ _The Long Game _then_ The Empty Child_. That was defo NOT on purpose! O.o  
**

_******(For NON Dalekanium/Jintonium fans, they ran back into the museum to get it ;D)**  
_

_**Next Chapter: The Doctor's got a gigantic mess to clean up, but there's still the matter of being arrested...**_

**Curious to know how/when I update? Basically three things:  
**

**1. How many reviews the chapter got w/in a span of a day or two. If I get five or more I usually update as fast as I can.  
**

**2. Chapter length. If the previous chapter was less than 2,000 words I also like to update as soon as possible.  
**

**3. Cliffhanger rating: If they're about to be killed by a Dalek or someone gets erased from time, making a high cliffhanger rating, I like to stretch out the cliffies ;D  
**

**(And that doesn't even include my schedule, or whether or not I have to 'review' certain episodes for correct facts ;D)  
**


	15. Myself to Blame

**70 Reviews! Cool xD**

**No, the Reapers will not make an appearance. Rose didn't resurrect someone from the dead. She just recognized him and changed his future. :)**

* * *

Chapter 15 – Myself to Blame

_"Doc, Rose got a good look at me. She recognized me, back when we first met in World War II. She doesn't trust me Doctor, the past is chang–" Jack was suddenly cut off as he disappeared into thin air. Erased from time._

* * *

"Jack? Jack!" The Doctor cried but knew it was useless.

"Who are you shouting at?" The official who was prodding him said.

"My friend, great big blue coat, was arrested same time as me?"

"Nuh uh, we only got reports to arrest two of the same man." He pushed on his back to get him moving again. The Doctor glanced back one last time at the spot where the Captain had vanished.

* * *

"Wait here." The man told him, leading the Doctor into a room with no windows and a table with two chairs on one side and one chair on the other. The door slammed loudly behind him.

The Doctor noticed a figure sitting on the side with two chairs, glaring at him, arms crossed over his chest.

"What?" The Doctor said to him. "It's not my fault!"

"Well it certainly isn't mine!" The younger Doctor cried, not moving from his seat or bothering to offer the other one to his older self. "You have absolutely no reason to be here. You know as well as I that you're not supposed to cross into your own time line. _You knew_ I took Rose here today!" He slammed his palm on the table to accentuate his words.

"Look, I know this looks bad," The older Doctor tried to reassure him. "But believe me, I am here for a very, very good reason." He paused, not liking the look of disbelief his younger self's face. "It's for Rose's health and well-being."

"Why? What happened?" The younger Doctor sat up in his seat sharply. The older Doctor sat down in the chair next to him.

"You know as well as I that I can't reveal your own future to you." The younger Doctor leaned back in his chair, a distressed look on his face.

"They won't even let me see her."

"I sent her and Adam back to the TARDIS." The younger Doctor looked at him, a bit peeved that he had let Rose see him. "Don't worry, she doesn't know there's two of us here." He sighed in relief.

"However, we do have a problem."

"What?"

"My friend was helping me in our...quest. Your Rose, who doesn't know him yet, got a good look at him and changed her own future."

"She's going to recognize him when she sees him for the first time?"

"She'll accuse him of having...treacherous motives. She met Ja...my friend before I did, so she probably made him let her go."

"So you never met him and he never became your companion."

"Right."

"Well, where do you think he is now?"

"Most likely still a soldier in 1941. Or even worse, out loose in the galaxy swindling as many as he can."

"What?"

"Never mind, you'll understand." The older Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers, closing his eyes. "Leave it to Rose to change the past, again." He stopped, remembering that his younger self hadn't seen the death of Rose's father yet.

"She has a history." He concluded, wincing at the pun. The younger Doctor tapped his finger on the table, his mind searching for an idea.

"So, what are we gonna do?"

"We nothing. You need to get back to Rose and the TARDIS, make sure the time line is running smoothly until she meets my friend."

"You do know that a time wound is easier to heal with two Time Lords rather than just one?"

"Yes, I do, but I already have a plan, not a very conventional one, but it'll work, if only they'd let us out of here!" He was rewarded by the sound of the door creaking open. A man in a blue uniform came in and pulled out the chair sitting across from the two Doctors. His name tag read 'Officer Bloken'.

"So, the reports are true then. The only thing different is that you're wearing green," Bloken pointed to the younger Doctor's jumper, "and you're wearing red. But everything else is the same." He paused, his brow creased in a frown trying to figure out where to start. "What are you doing here?" He pointed to the older Doctor. "Your side first."

"Uhh, you might want to hear his side first." He pointed at his younger self. Officer Bloken was quiet, looking between the two. "Okay, you start then." The younger Doctor then began to tell his story about how he had brought Rose and Adam to the Station, how he had discovered the anomalous readings from the internal core, and ending with how he and Rose with Cathica's help destroyed the Editor and the Mighty Jagrofess.

Bloken looked a bit overwhelmed when he was done. _"He hasn't even heard the whole story yet." _The older Doctor thought, chuckling inwardly at his bewildered expression. At a cue, the older Doctor began to speak.

"I...we, are Time Lords. That means we can travel in time and space. Basically, I'm his future, same man." He pointed back and forth between them. He was getting frustrated at how long this was taking. "My friend and I came here to gather samples of the neurostimulants found in the Isochloric Acid that the Editor was using to control his...deceased controllers."

"Why do you need the neurostimulants?" Bloken asked him.

"My other friend she...her DNA is unstable. The Isochloric Acid is just one ingredient on the list of her remedy." He tried to ignore the concerned look on his younger self's face. "And the longer I am forced to sit here being interrogated for nothing that I did wrong, she's slowly slipping away from me." He tried to keep his voice level. Bloken was silent for a moment.

"I'll let you two go on one condition."

"And what's that?" The younger Doctor replied.

"I want to see this 'spaceship' that you use to travel through time and space."

"Let me do it." The younger Doctor interjected. "I've got more time. Let him go." Bloken nodded in agreement.

The Doctor turned to his older self as Bloken made his way towards the door. "Good luck." He whispered so Bloken wouldn't overhear. "Don't worry, I won't let him inside." The older Doctor nodded.

"You have to remove those memories of what I said about Rose's DNA. You can't know your future."

"I know." The younger Doctor replied. "I'll do it once we get back into the vortex." Being careful not to touch his younger self as to not cause another paradox, he stepped away, smiling. At least one part of this seemed to work out. Once he was released from the interrogation room he ran for his TARDIS waiting for him on the highest floor.

* * *

Once inside he began to set the controls for the London Blitz, but a thought made him stop in his tracks.

"Damn!" He shouted. _"I don't know exactly how, or where Rose met Jack."_ Granted, he remembered that she had told him she had been hanging on a barrage balloon and had been transported to his ship, but other than that, she had not given him any specifics, like where his ship even was!

So the Doctor did something his hearts had been longing to do for a while now, and something he had also been dreading.

He had to talk to Rose.

Specifically, he had to talk to Rose without entering her own time line again. It was bad enough her past had seen him already.

He set the coordinates for New Earth's hospital.

* * *

The Doctor sat at Rose's bedside. Her skin had faded to a pallid and ashen white, showing how desperate the situation really was.

With a deep breath, the Doctor placed his hands on her temples and delved deep into her mind.

* * *

**_Next: Rose's head is SPOILERSREMOVEDBYBADWOLFVIRUS and the Doctor must __SPOILERSREMOVEDBYBADWOLFVIRUS_ where he meets ___SPOILERSREMOVEDBYBADWOLFVIRUS_ who gives him _____SPOILERSREMOVEDBYBADWOLFVIRUS_ before he can save Jack and restore the time lines ;D**

**I rewatched most of The Empty Child and I believe Rose never tells the Doctor that Jack's ship was in front of Big Ben. If she did and I missed it...blame it on the AU! :D  
**


	16. Revealed Within Her Mind

**PHOTO PREVIEW FOR THIS CHAPTER: ****rosebadwolftyler. deviantart. (comslash) art/Slowly-Losing-You-Chapter-16-Preview-317643396** (without the spaces, and added signs in)  


**SEVEN reviews in one day? YAY. I wasn't going to update tonight, but then I remembered I won't be able to get on my computer at all tomorrow, so you get this EXTRA long chapter today :D  
**

**Someone asked why the Doctor couldn't just remove the memories of Rose seeing Jack when he came to her at the hospital. Two main reasons:  
**

**1. She asked him earlier not to touch her memories about Jimmy Stone in Chapter 9: Mistrust and Secrets. Although this is entirely different, that may have struck a resonating note in him. AND  
**

**2. You'll soon find out that Rose's head is not in a state of...time line linear means. You'll find out what I mean in this chapter. Remember when Ten entered into Reinette's head? I've always wanted to see the Doctor do that more and explain what really happens, so this chapter is kind of my take on it.**

* * *

Chapter 16 – Revealed Within Her Mind

_The Doctor sat at Rose's bedside. He had to find out how and where Rose and Jack first met. With a deep breath, the Doctor placed his hands on her temples and delved deep into her mind._

* * *

_"Rose?" The Doctor – his mind in her mind – stood in what appeared to be a large empty white room. "Rose?" He called out again. Suddenly the room began to shift, changing into scenes on planets, ones he recognized and a lot – strangely – he didn't. Barcelona, Earth, New Earth (hold on, how could her mind be registering that if she's been unconscious the whole time?), Women Wept, Raxocoricofallipitorious... The scariest thing was was that he recognized places he knew he'd never taken Rose to. Places like Skaro, Trakken, Androzani, and even pieces of Gallifrey._

_Trying hard to shake a bad feeling off, he began climbing up one of the barren hills of Androzani._

_"Rose, I need to speak to you!" As soon as he spoke, everything seemed to change again, this time morphing into a version of London with zepplins. As the Doctor entered continued on he saw faces of people that Rose loved and had encountered on her adventures with him. Her mother and father, Mickey, Jack, Adam, and more he didn't recognize. He gasped upon seeing images of himself...in his past eight lives._

_He came upon a large wooden gate. Seizing the doors, he threw them open and stepped into another white room. The doors behind him shut and disappeared._

_"You are meddling with things that are beyond your control." The Doctor spun around to find a being standing behind him. She was very tall with blond, nearly white angelic hair that fell down in waves to the middle of her back. She was clothed in a white dress that fell to a few inches below her knees and accentuated her figure. Her eyes were shining gold and the Doctor could detect some...wolfish features about her, like her angled face, nose and chin, and slightly curved eyes. Her teeth were also a fraction of a hair sharper than normal.  
_

_"The Bad Wolf." He gasped at seeing her true form for the first time. Not exactly Rose's look-alike, but bits and pieces looked like Rose had had an influence. "You were never fully removed from Rose."_

_"And forced to reside here in the dark recesses of her collapsing mind." Her voice was soft and lyrical, but had an edge of ethereal quality._

_"You could just leave." He replied plainly._

_"I am unable to. I have always been a part of Rose since the day she was conceived. It was not until we bonded with the TARDIS that I was able to take this form."_

_"And now you're killing her." He spat angrily._

_"No, I am not. What is happening here is beyond my control. I am not powerful enough anymore, already my power to control her stability is slipping. I could once destroy and bring life, and now I cannot even keep this one going ever since you made her absorb my power." As if to prove her point the room began to shudder and flicker._

_"Why is her DNA destabilizing?"_

_"I cannot tell you. Doing so would only make you try harder. You don't know what you are getting into." She repeated, before vanishing. The Doctor shouted to the empty air._

_"Where's her subconscious, the one that I can talk to?" There was no reply. Turning around at a soft noise behind him, he saw a hunched figure sitting in the corner, shaking and whimpering. Kneeling down at her side he lifted her chin up slowly._

_"Rose." He said her name softly, frowning. Her eyes were dim, as if the light behind them had been switched off. "Rose, I'm here." He caressed her cheek._

_"Doc...tor?" She whispered, hearing his voice but not looking at him._

_"Yes, it's me."_

_"What's happening to me?" She shivered. "Everything is fading into darkness."_

_"I'll save you Rose, keep holding on." He went to pull her into his arms but discovered she was no longer there. Knowing that her stability of her subconscious was growing weaker by the second, he tried not to let frustration seep into his heart. He stood up and continued walking, hoping to find the place where her memories were stored._

_At last he found it. A room with a hundred doors, each with a different name on them. After a difficult pass by the door with his own name on it, he found the one titled: Captain Jack Harkness: Friend. Hoping it wasn't going to be too bad, he entered inside._

_It was a room filled with many different screens playing her favorite memories of him. The three of them with Mickey on Earth, laughing in the cafe at Jack's story, standing before the elders of Raxocoricofallipitorious, the three of them laughing in the TARDIS when Rose had found the replica of the Doctor's leather jacket..._

_He walked down the hallway and found the screen he wanted, one of the only ones he didn't recognize, and he didn't like it one bit._

_Jack was holding Rose close (too close) as they danced to Glenn Miller on what appeared to be thin air but was in fact Jack's cloaked ship. Strange how her memories didn't seem to morph when her past self changed her future meeting with Jack. That right there was enough to give him pause. But then he found what he was looking for.  
_

_"That's Big Ben." Well, he had the information he had came for, but he knew he couldn't get himself to leave without seeing one last thing._

_Upon exiting Jack's room, he entered the one with his own name on it. The Doctor: Trusted Doctor. That was enough._

_"Which memories will be most important to her?" He watched fondly as they rolled together on the grass in Paris on their first date, the first time they met when he grabbed her hand and said "Run!", him telling her she was beautiful the night they met Charles Dickens, how they danced together in the TARDIS... _

_What surprised him most was how predominant their intimate moments were. His quick kiss to her over the Sapphire Potion incident, when they held hands walking back to the TARDIS after her father's final death, the way he held her and caressed her during their romantic dinner Jack had created for them._

_Turning his head, he was shocked to see another screen of Rose standing there as the Bad Wolf on the Game Station, but he distinctly remembered it playing out a different way._

"My head!"

"Come here."

"It's killing me!"

"I think you need a Doctor."_ He remembered saying those words to her, but Rose had stopped him before he was able to draw the Bad Wolf out and ultimately save her life. Instead, nothing could have turned his gaze away as he watched himself remove the Time Vortex from her head in a passionate kiss._

_"That was how it was supposed to happen." The Doctor heard the Bad Wolf's true form speak from behind him._

_"Why didn't it?" He said softly._

_"She changed her own future, her own destiny, fate, whatever you want to call it."_

_"What...what happens after this, here?" He pointed to the screen._

_"You know. You knew what would have happened had you been able to remove me from her fully. You regenerated. But you would not like that future any more than this one, less actually." She snapped her fingers once and a new screen appeared in front of them, showing a new man – his new regeneration – with Rose, in scenes from their new life together. But he noticed something was different, something was very wrong._

_"We're acting just like we did in the year we first met." _Without any romance._ He thought. Back to being best mates, but only that, nothing more. No love potion, no Paris, nothing._

_ He would have assumed their relationship would have grown after he regenerated because she knew more than one form of him, but then he realized with some shock that he hadn't told her about regeneration yet until he had taken her to Vasi-Anidad where the people could change their forms at will. _

"I can change my form too." The Doctor said offhandedly as Rose stared at a native morphing from a fish to a bird.

"Really?" She turned sharply to look at him.

"Well, not like I can turn into a dog at will or anything like that, but when I'm dying, my cells change completely and I'm given a new face and body. It's called regeneration. This is my Ninth form." Rose frowned.

"I hope I won't have to see you...regenerate?" He nodded. "At least for a long time."

"Really? I might not have big ears next time." He said it flippantly, but Rose threw her arms around him, a bit unsettled at the thought.

"I love your ears."

"Really? You like the ears?" He grinned.

"Yeah. Just don't change unless you really have to."_  
_

"I'll try." He replied, chuckling.

_Shaking loose from the vivid memory, it dawned on him. "We lost our intimacy when I regenerated because she was never prepared for it, like I had hidden something vitally important about myself from her." Of course, she would have taken a long time to accept him, probably until he did something heroic that clearly showed he was still her Doctor. A relationship restarted on a broken trust would never work, at least, not for a long, long time._

_"Not only did you lose your intimacy, your tendency to lose her triples." She snapped her fingers again and the Doctor saw random, horrifying scenes. He saw her stuck on a space station, a rather frightening image of her face missing, himself stuck in a child's picture, Rose on a spaceship falling into a black hole._

"I thought you and me were...you never even mentioned her!"

"You humans, you wither and you die. Imagine that happening to someone you-"

"Who's gonna hold his hand now?"

_He saw her sobbing alone on a beach, and then a much older Rose standing in between what appeared to be two of his future selves. He was too distressed to even wonder what had happened there._

_"In the end you ultimately do lose her." The last image he saw was an even newer Doctor wearing a bow tie and a tweed coat collapsed on the floor, gazing at a hologram of Rose, stiff and unmoving._

"I can help Rose Tyler with her homework!"

"What would you do, one last day with your beloved?"

_"You never do get over her, ever." The Doctor turned away, unable to bear it any more. The Bad Wolf came up and wiped a stray tear from his cheek._

_"She changed her destiny, she stopped this from happening, all out of love for you."_

_"But why? Why does she love me?" He knew Rose did not care only about appearances, if that were true, she would have let him regenerate into that fox of a Time Lord. But he still couldn't understand why she would want him. A sorry excuse for a Time Lord who couldn't even stop her DNA destabilizing.  
_

_"You stand for everything she loves." The Bad Wolf replied. "Adventure, justice, compassion, things she has been chasing after and standing for her whole life. You helped her become what she is today, instead of a lowly shop girl marrying an lowly mechanic, having a family, and dying a normal human being, never destined for anything greater than that._

_"Except now she's withering away on a hospital bed."_

_"Not withering. Changing. But if you do not help her, and fast, she will die."_

_"What happened to 'You don't know what you're getting into'?" The Bad Wolf shook her head._

_"You've changed my mind. You love her so much, you will do practically anything to save her life. And I will help you. But that is a discussion for another time." She suddenly faded, her last words echoing in the air._

_ "Help her."_

The Doctor released his hands from Rose's temples and wept bitterly.

* * *

**I've always thought that the Bad Wolf was so much more than just Rose. It had to be a separate being that was created, like another entity born out of Rose and the Time Vortex. I've got another story on my profile where I deal with that, called _The Epic Battle Over Time and Love. _One of my favorites that I've written, so I suggest a look ;)**_**  
**_

_**Next: The Doctor knows how to fix everything, but just what is he planning? And can he do it without repercussions?  
**_

**I made a photomanip for the Bad Wolf woman, so you can see what she looks like. I "cast" Amanda Righetti, tho a blonde Scarlett Johansson would have worked too(they both have the angled face, chin and nose), but that's for another story ;) View here: rosebadwolftyler. deviantart. (comslash)#/d5949oz (without spaces and added signs yaddayaddayadda xP)  
**


	17. Healing the Time Wound

**Although I adore Ten/Rose, I believe Ten could have treated her way better. Examples: The Girl in the Fireplace, Fear Her, Idiot's Lantern, Impossible Planet, Doomsday, Journey's End, and many other episodes where Ten just left her on her own to fend for herself because something(or someone XP) was more important than she was. Nine rarely did that, and that's one of the main reasons why Nine/Rose is my OTP. :)  
**

* * *

Chapter 17 – Healing the Time Wound

_"That's Big Ben." Well, he had the information he had came for, now to restore the time lines..._

* * *

Wiping the tears from his eyes, he stood up and gazed at Rose intensely. The Bad Wolf's failing power was still able to give Rose the capability of seeing alternate time lines, not only his past selves but his future selves, and what could have happened had he regenerated. After one last longing look at her, he turned away and left the room, never stopping until he reached the TARDIS. If he continued to dwell on what had happened, he would go mad.

Trying not to let the image of his future selves surface in his mind, he set a course for the London Blitz, this time in front of Big Ben, where he now knew Jack's cloaked ship would be located.

Time to set things right and get Jack back.

* * *

When he stepped out of the TARDIS, he was awash in a wave of memories of his and Rose's time here. Nancy, meeting Jack, dancing in the TARDIS, restoring the nanogenes.

He ducked in reaction to the airplanes flying overhead. Remembering his mission, he began running towards Big Ben out in the distance, on the lookout for any kids with gas masks fixed to their head.

* * *

Finally he made it. He stopped under where he thought Jack's ship would be.

"She must still be inside." He deduced. Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, he hacked into the ship's internal sensors so he could hear what was going on.

_"Hello."_ Jack spoke first.

_"Hello."_ Rose replied.

_"Hello." _He said again.

_"Let's not start that again."_ Two minutes alone and they already had their own inside jokes. Jack chuckled.

_"Okay."_ It was silent for a few seconds.

_ "Hold on, don't I know you?" _Rose asked. _Uh oh. _The Doctor thought._  
_

_ "Well I'd sure as hell remember you if we ever met Blondie."_

_ "No you...you were with the Doctor."_

_ "The Doctor, who's the Doctor?"_

_ "Don't lie to me, that was when they arrested him on Satellite Five, and you were there...it must have been your doing, that's why you're lying to me!"_

_ "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."_

_ "Why are you following us? Are you going to kill me?"_

_ "Of course not!"_

_ "Get me off this ship!"_

_ "Rose, settle down, you're talking nonsense!"_

_ "How do you know my name?" _Her voice was growing more panicked with every word.

_ "Because you just told me!"_

_ "You're lying, I never told you my name."_

_ "Yes you did, you're still delirious from the transporter."_

_ "Get me off this ship, beam me down now! DOCTOR!" _The Doctor jerked, hearing Rose call his name for help. As if she knew he could hear her...

_"Who is this Doctor?" _Jack repeated.

_ "He's my friend, and he'll be furious when I tell him you're keeping me here captive."_

_ "You're not here captive!" _The Doctor couldn't help but chuckle at the frustration growing in Jack's voice. _"At least let me find this Doctor friend so you're not out on the London streets alone at midnight."_

"Come on Rose, don't be stubborn, take him up on his offer-"

_"No! You'll just want to kill him too!" _The Doctor groaned. Beautiful but oh so stubborn. He heard Jack give a great big sigh, before he heard the sound of him pushing buttons.

_"All right, whatever you say."_

_ "And don't you go spyin' on me either with your alien sensor...things."_ She suddenly reappeared in front of the Doctor in a flash of blue light, still pointing at Jack.

"Doctor!" She cried in relief and flung herself into his arms. He held her tight, the ease of this condition warming his heart. "There was this man, or alien, or something, he was holding me against my will in his ship. Oh gosh I think he drugged me too..." She lost a bit of her footing but the Doctor held her up.

"That's just the effects of his transporter beam saving you when you fell off that barrage balloon."

"You saw that?"

"I know about it, yes." He released her and held her hands, wincing as he felt her rope burns. "Rose, I need you to go back up there."

"What?" She cried, jumping back. "No!"

"Rose, look at me." He stepped closer to her and used his hand to gently turn her face back to look in to his eyes. "Do you notice anything different about me?" She gazed into them for a few seconds, and then her brow furrowed in confusion.

"You look...older. How is that possible, I thought you didn't age?"

"My regenerations still age, but that's not the point. You're right, I am older." He steeled himself, about to do something he knew he wasn't supposed to. If he wasn't pressed for time he would have asked his younger self to help him repair this mess. On his own he was forced to resolve to unconventional means. "I'm from the future." Rose stepped back a bit, her face turning into a frown. "You saw me," He continued. "back at Satellite 5."

"Yes, with..." Realization dawned.

"With Captain Jack Harkness."

"I thought he was the one responsible for your arrest."

"No, he wasn't. We were there...on a mission."

"So he's a good guy then?"

"Yes, as much as he can be. You have to trust him, and let him fix your burns too." She still looked unwilling, but nevertheless nodded her head. She trusted her Doctor more than anyone else in the universe.

"Wait," She stopped. "Where am I in your future?" The Doctor inwardly groaned. It was a reasonable question, he should have expected it. But he certainly wasn't going to reveal her own future to her. He already broke a few time laws today. 1, by going to Satellite 5 in the first place, 2, letting Rose see him and changing Jack's time line, 3, telling Officer Bloken and his younger self part of what had happened, and 4, telling Rose he was from the future.

Rose gazed at him in worry at his silence, imagining the worst possible things that might have happened to her.

"Don't worry." He finally said. "You're safe, and alive."_ For now._

"Still traveling with you?"

"Yup." He motioned for her to hug him again. "Everything's going to be alright." He said, more for his own benefit than her's. "Okay, time for you to get back on track with your time line." He said in her ear. After she released him he pulled his sonic out. After pressing a button he spoke into the top like a microphone.

"I know you heard everything Jack, so beam her back up!" Rose's jaw dropped.

"He was spying on me! And I told him not to!"

"Rose?" He admonished her. "Trust him." He reiterated. He looked up towards Jack's cloaked ship. "Oh, and to the both of you, don't let the current version of me know anything about this, under no circumstance, _ever_." After Jack and Rose's confirmation, he waved at Rose as she once again disappeared in a spectre of blue light.

He stood there for a few seconds, his Time Lord brain mentally searching the three time lines of himself, Rose and Jack. As soon as he was sure they were running smoothly again, he took off in the direction of the TARDIS, praying that it would be enough to set things right.

* * *

He opened the door of the TARDIS and saw Jack standing by the console looking confused and rubbing his head with one hand. The Doctor grinned and walked up to him.

"Doctor?" Jack spoke. "What happened?"

"With Rose's help, I just restored your time line." He slapped him on the shoulder and went around the console, pulling the Isochloric Acid out of his pocket and placing it next to the Jintonium. He knew that in a few minutes Jack would piece together everything that had happened.

"She erased me!" He suddenly cried out indignantly. "She erased me from time!" The Doctor couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

"Only three more items on the list." Jack commented. "Hey, shouldn't we check up on Rose at the hospital, make sure she's doing okay?"

"Nah, no need for that. Less time we spend gathering these items the less time she needs to get better." He avoided telling Jack about his own visit to Rose and delving into her mind. How could he explain it when he barely understood it himself? Plus it was still too painful, remembering what he did to her by not regenerating and what could have happened if he had.

"What's the next item?" He said, distracting the both of them.

"Uhh, Water from the Stone of Alaverez. Do I even want to know?"

"You got your running boots on?" The Doctor asked.

"Why?"

"Because this is going to be a difficult one."

* * *

**There never was a real moment where Rose told Jack her name, so I'm assuming it was just when she transported down or something like that.**

**_Next: It's about to get really weird. The Doctor and Jack land on a planet where the inhabitants are like nothing they've ever seen..._  
**


	18. Legend in Time

Chapter 18 – Legend in Time

_"What's the next item?" The Doctor asked Jack._

_"Uhh, Water from the Stone of Alaverez. Do I even want to know?"_

_"You got your running boots on?"  
_

_"Why?"_

_"Because this is going to be a difficult one."_

* * *

"Now, the inhabitants of Katariah 3 are mostly friendly, just a bit...native, and extremely proud yet still sensitive of their appearance."

"Why are they sensitive of their appearance?"

"Don't, whatever you do, don't stop and stare, it'll just make them angry." Jack frowned but said nothing as he followed the Doctor out the TARDIS doors and into a dense forest. Ducking branches and crossing streams, the pair continued on until they reached a clearing.

"Welcome to the home of Alaverez." The Doctor stated.

"They're...they're..."

"They're humanoids." The Doctor threw a glance at Jack, who was standing there with his mouth open.

"No, they're foxes!" Just like the cat nuns, the natives of Kitariah 3 walked on two feet, had two arms and legs, but certain features about them were very...fox-like. Their height was immensely taller than a normal human's; most of them towered over seven or eight feet tall.

"I know they're beautiful." The Doctor whispered to him. "But there's no need to announce it to the whole neighborhood." He grinned at his joke.

Upon seeing the strangers at the edge of their land, all the natives present stopped what they were doing. After a minute one of them came up, a female just over seven feet tall. She was dressed in a khaki shawl/vest with no sleeves that wrapped around her chest and stomach but exposed her soft red fur-covered arms and shoulders. She also wore short brown shorts.

"My name is Mysti, I represent the Fifth Tribe that you see here." She swished her tail in greeting and bowed at the middle. Jack followed the Doctor's lead and the two of them bowed in return. The Doctor, well-prepared in this clan's culture, introduced them both.

"I am the Doctor and this is Captain Jack Harkness, my companion. We are here to make a request in behalf of my other companion Rose Tyler, who is sick and needs what only you have."

"All requests are to be made to the Council." Her large fox ears twitched in anticipation and she smiled charmingly, exposing the sharp, perfect teeth in her muzzle. "This way." She turned and led them deeper into their society. Many of the other Kitarans stared without remorse at the two pink humanoids being led by Mysti.

"We don't get visitors often." She explained.

"So," Jack whispered to the Doctor soft enough so Mysti wouldn't hear. "They can stare at us but we can't stare at them?" He was unnerved by their shameless stares.

"Yep." was the Doctor's only reply. They walked a ways, then Jack leaned over to whisper in the Doctor's ear again.

"Look at the children." He commented. "They don't look much like the adults." It was true, the Doctor noted. While the adults looked like full fox humanoids, the children looked more like human children with no tails, only tiny fox ears and very thin gold fur rather than the full red of the adults.

"It's their biological makeup." He replied. "I'm sure we'll hear the whole story soon enough." They continued to walk behind Mysti until they reached a large round grass hut.

"Our messengers have already gathered the meeting of the Council for you." She gestured with her paw for them to go inside.

"After you Time Lord." Jack said.

The room had three steps leading up to twelve chairs that were placed in a half circle around the edge of the hut, each seating a member of the Council. Some were old, some were younger, but all of them carried a sense of wisdom and leadership. The youngest one stood up from his chair in the middle and came down the wooden steps to the two strangers. His clothing closely resembled Mysti's and everyone else present, not marking him as any different from them.

"Welcome to Katariah 3, my name is Pityr, Leader of the Council and the Fifth Tribe." The Doctor's face showed surprise, before he remembered that the Kitarans were extremely perceptible in reading emotions. Pityr cocked his head.

"You are surprised that one so young leads our tribe."

"The thought had crossed my mind, yes." He admitted. Pityr just smiled. "I may be young but I have rightly earned my position as leader." He paused. "Now who is this Rose I have heard about?"

"She is a human, from the planet Earth, about 80,000 light years away from here. Her DNA has become unstable. We have heard that water run through the Stone of Alaverez is a counteract to morphing species."

"Do you know how the Stone of Alaverez came to be, our history?"

"Bits and pieces." The Doctor replied, "But not the whole story." Tribe leader Pityr then began to relate the entire history of Kitariah and Alaverez.

_It seems that hundreds and hundreds of years ago, the Kitarians began as humans, pure humans, after Earth had been destroyed in the year five billion. Until one scientist began exploring the possibilities of adding canine-like qualities to human DNA. He believed that better hearing, smelling and overall instincts of foxes, wolves and other canines were superior than humans. Of course he had no support from the government, but he followed through with his research anyway. _

_After developing a formula, he injected himself and ten other willing participants with the canine DNA. But he had been too hasty and hadn't run enough tests. The DNA change turned out to be brutal. Five of the participants including the scientist died from it. The other five, who knew nothing about science lived to survive and became just like one of the Kitarans from today. Assuming that the effects were permanent and now stable, they began developing a society of their own and creating offspring._

_But to their horror they found that their children were born only half-formed, and once reaching the end of their teen age, would go through the same brutal morphing process that would kill the weak and spare the strong._

_No one from the outside world would help them. They were treated as outcasts by how they would let their weaker children die while morphing. Already DNA changers were illegal on nearly every planet in the quadrant._

_So the Kitarans fled to an uninhabited planet and established their society. Although their tribes were small, they were powerful because of the strong that could survive their change from partial human to humanoid canine. No one dared to commit acts of war against them._

_Things continued on the way they were, the morphing still killing off the weak children, then about twenty years ago, a medical scientist, a human, came to the planet for research in DNA technological advances. Upon discovering the state of the Kitarans, she had compassion on them and spent years and years finding a way to ease the incredible discomfort and deaths of their teens. She and a few others discovered a mine filled with a mineral that had amazing DNA healing properties, under the mysterious volcano of Alaverez._

_But upon trying to extract the stone, the whole mountain began to collapse, the scientist and the others barely making it out alive. All that was left was one small stone. The Stone of Alaverez._

_The scientist then began to develop a way to use the stone that would benefit the change. She discovered that carving the stone a certain way would allow water to run through it._

_Now, years later, whenever one of their teens enters into adulthood and the morphing state, giving them the water will ease all the pain of changing, also preventing death._

"So you see Doctor, even though our society may not be as strong as it once was, we would gladly sacrifice it for the well-being of our younglings."

"A truly noble thing." Jack said. At his statement Pityr looked at him strangely. He then turned around and strode over to the other members of the Council and talked to them in hushed tones. He then returned to where the Doctor and Jack are standing.

"If you do not take offense," He spoke to Jack, "we wish to speak to the Doctor alone. It...unnerves some of us as to the way your mind works." Jack threw a confused and hurt look at the Doctor, before shrugging and heading outside.

"Damn foxes." The Doctor could hear him mutter.

"Why did you need to do that, he did nothing wrong!" The Doctor exclaimed after he had gone outside.

"It was...inappropriate the way he kept eyeing the women and even some of the men sitting here." Pityr replied. "We do not encourage inter-species breeding considering the already unstable state of our offspring." The Doctor laughed before he could stop himself.

"That's just Jack, he'll do nothing wrong."

"Even so." Pityr remained adamant. Clearing his throat, the Kitaran changed subjects. "Now that you know the history of the Stone of Alaverez, are you also aware why we cannot give it to humanoids outside of our clans?"

"Sure." The Doctor nodded. "You are a noble society, as Jack said before you threw him out." His mouth turned sideways in displeasure. "You know that the distribution of the water would encourage others outside your species to explore the possibilities of DNA change, making the same mistake that the scientist did hundreds of years ago. You cannot change who you are but you can prevent others from becoming like you."

"We are fiercely proud of our species Doctor." Pityr growled a bit. "But you are right." He admitted.

"And a beautiful species you are." The Doctor said, gazing around at all of them. "Not many others are like you." He nodded. "So here is our request." He paused for effect.

"We request to become members of the Fifth Tribe of Kitariah 3."

* * *

After Pityr got over his shock, he replied in a surprised tone.

"Do you know what involves becoming a member of our tribe?" Pityr eyed him, raising an eyebrow once he recovered from his stunned stupor.

"I know a bit, yeah."

"And you would do this for your Rose?" The Doctor liked how Pityr referred to her as _"his Rose."_

"I would gladly give my life." _and all my regenerations for her._ Pityr contemplated that.

"You know." Pityr said offhandedly. "When males in our tribe decide it is time to take a mate, they pick a worthy female and do something incredibly difficult or dangerous to win their affections." He paused. "This Rose must have your heart and soul."

"That sounds about right." It was embarrassing to hear out loud, but it was true.

"Tell us more about your Rose, we are curious." He turned around and the other Council members nodded their agreement.

The Doctor told them about Rose's humble beginnings until she became his companion and traveled through time and space.

"So the legends are true." Pityr interrupted, a look of astonishment on his face. The Doctor noticed the other members turning to each other and murmuring with awe on their faces as well.

"What do you mean?" The Doctor was confused.

"They say she travels in all of space and time, the entire universe is her home. The stories tell of a yellow and pink Rose howling at the moon in the dark of night, her eyes burning brighter than the suns. She twirls time and power effortlessly between her fingers. The legends of her wonders have always been a recurrence in our history annuls." The Doctor took a step back, his head reeling.

_~I AM THE BAD WOLF~_

* * *

**I made them foxes because of their close relation to wolves, hence why they honor the Bad Wolf in their history. If she scattered the words in time and space, and managed to wipe out an entire powerful race, surely others would have heard of it right? Right? RIGHT?  
**

******_Coming up: It will be no easy task to join the Fifth Tribe, as the Doctor and Jack are soon to find out..._**

**Pronunciations: Mysti = Misty, Pityr = Peter (Pretty easy, different spellings for modern names. More in next chapter)  
**

**Kitariah 3 is the planet, Alaverez is the inactive volcano near the Fifth Tribe, and there are numerous other tribes across the planet, similar to the one the Doctor and Jack have encountered. :)  
**


	19. Settling In

**It's a month today that I started this story, and now we're nearly at 100 reviews! In relation to chapters vs. reviews this is my second highest-rated story so far, behind my story _Every Side of Me_, which averaged 10 reviews for every chapter(which was only four). You guys are fantastic, I hope I don't ever disappoint! :D**

* * *

Chapter 19 – Settling In

_"They say she travels in all of space and time, the entire universe is her home. The stories tell of a yellow and pink Rose howling at the moon in the dark of night, her eyes burning brighter than the suns. She twirls time and power effortlessly between her fingers. The legends of her wonders have always been a recurrence in our history annuls." The Doctor took a step back, his head reeling at Pityr's revelation. "I AM THE BAD WOLF."_

* * *

The Doctor stood outside the hut of the Council, still overwhelmed about the Kitarans' knowledge of the Bad Wolf and how her stories had reached out this far in time and space.

But he really shouldn't have been surprised. Maybe it was just her way of showing him that Rose would be alright.

_"I take the words...I scatter them, in time and space." _He used his foot to shift a rock back and forth under his boot, his mind a whirlwind of different explanations, theories, thoughts, none of which made sense. Kicking the rock away, he looked up and noticed it was nearly evening. The orange and purple rays of the sunset bathed his face and the area around him. He closed his eyes, feeling a whiff of the Bad Wolf's presence. It comforted him.

The Doctor heard a noise to his left and saw Jack sitting on a bench in the embrace of a giggling female Kitaran, her immense tail wrapped around them both. Remembering the concerns of the Council, he spoke Jack's name sharply. The Captain sprung up and was immediately at the Doctor's side.

"Sorry, I never heard you come back out."

"Why can't you keep it to a simple greeting and then move on?" He scowled as Jack waved to the retreating female, who winked back at him and sauntered away, her tail swishing back and forth in an overly sexy manner.

"Not everyone has a soul mate Doc." He replied, slightly bitter. The Doctor frowned, feeling the empty space between his fingers where Rose's hand would be at this moment.

"Sorry." Jack muttered, seeing the Doctor's change of demeanor. "So, are they gonna give us the water for Rose?" He changed the subject.

"Jack," The Doctor began. "There's no easy way to say this, but before they'll give us the water, we'll have to endure and suffer through vigorous tests and challenges to become members of their tribe."

"What?" Jack cried indignantly. "Why wasn't I-" Suddenly there was a loud cry, then what sounded like a dog yelping in pain.

"I told you it was going to be a difficult one." The Doctor replied as they both took off towards the direction of the cries.

* * *

They came upon a male Kitaran lying on the ground, shaking and yelping. He looked to be about 19 by human standards. The Doctor knelt at his side, sonic out.

"Where does it hurt?" He asked him.

"E-everywhere." the boy gasped, before convulsing in pain again. Slowly others of the tribe began gathering around, and two older ones helped the young one up and walked him away while Mysti pulled the Doctor off to the side.

"Kiyl has just entered his DNA cycle. Come, see how the Water of Alaverez helps him." She pulled on his arm and led him to another clearing where the tribe had gathered.

"There it is." Jack pointed it out to the Doctor. It sat on a large rock, the beautiful purple stone was diamond shaped with a flat base, carved with a hole on the top that ran through to the front side. The whole thing was about the size of a bowling ball. They watched with interest as one of the tribe brought water, another ran it through the stone to another who was waiting to catch it to give it to the young Kitaran.

Kiyl, upon drinking it, immediately fell into a deep sleep, and the pair watched in awe as his muzzle and ears grew fuller, a tail appeared and his short gold fur grew longer and changed to a beautiful lush red. A few silent seconds went by, then Kiyl opened his eyes and slowly stood up. Everyone burst into applause at his successful transformation.

"Doctor, can you see now how important the water is to our race?" Mysti asked him. The Doctor's eyes were wide staring at the intricacies of the purple gem.

"Where is the medical scientist who created that?" The Doctor asked. "I wish to speak to her."

"She is out traveling the planet looking for more stones to make like this one. There are other tribes all over Kitariah 3 who are forced to send their children here to the stone before they transform. We are thankful the stone was found so close to our tribe."

"It's a good thing they're a peaceful race." Jack whispered to the Doctor so no one else could hear. "Or we'd have a civil war on our hands fighting for possession of the stone."

"They'd rather live in peace than risk the deaths of their children." The Doctor responded.

"Doctor." Mysti called another female over to them. She was a bit shorter than Mysti, but still towered over the two. "This is Wyni. She will show you where you will sleep tonight and prepare for your first challenge in the morning."

"Hi." Jack said, sticking out his hand. She cocked her head at his action but shook his hand, a grin growing on her face. Jack winked at her.

"Jack." The Doctor growled.

"What? I kept it to a simple greeting!" When Wyni turned around the Doctor slammed his shoulder against Jack's side, hard.

"Ow! What was that for?" He rubbed the sore spot ruefully.

"No meddling here Jack, and I mean it. We don't want to get on the wrong side of the Kitarans. They may be peaceful now but they are ruthless when it comes to the well-being of their species. Plus we need to focus on getting the cure for Rose."

"Fine, okay, okay." Jack replied moodily. All three of them were silent as Wyni led them through their village to a small hut on the edge of the forest.

"Your clothes are sitting by your beds. I suggest you save your energy and get a good night's sleep before tomorrow. There are some food supplements on the shelf to the left." In a flash she was gone. The Doctor and Jack looked at each other, shrugged, then went in.

"Beds? Ha!" Jack laughed, throwing himself on the bottom hammock strung up by the sides of the hut. It swung slowly under his weight.

"I'll take the top then I guess." The Doctor said, pulling off his leather jacket and setting it by the door.

"In case it breaks and you kill me, rather than me falling on you and causing you to regenerate."

"Agreed." The Doctor said, tossing one of the food supplements to Jack. He then climbed on the top hammock and began munching on what tasted like a mix of flowers and herbs. Jack grumbled in disgust, throwing the packet away after the first bite. He was used to more substantial foods, due to having a larger build.

"Hey, do you even need sleep?" He asked the Time Lord, shifting to get comfortable and causing his hammock to rock back and forth.

"Every once in a while I get an hour or two in. I'll get up and walk around a few times to keep myself occupied tonight." Jack was quiet for a moment, reflecting on all that had happened that day.

"But I don't get it." He said, as if continuing a different conversation. "Their kids are mostly Kitaran. Why don't they just grow up without the deadly change?"

"It's called partial cellular reprogramming, what the scientist used all those years ago." The Doctor paused, thinking of a good analogy. "I have this device in the TARDIS called a Chameleon Arch, it rewrites biology to nearly anything you want. DNA changers were never illegal on Gallifrey, but no one ever entertained the thought. Why would you, when you were already part of the _greatest_ species in the universe?" He spat the last part bitterly. "Anyway, the Chameleon Arch is extremely painful. I've never had a need to use it, thank goodness."

"Which is why you never thought about putting Rose in there to become a Time Lord, I mean, Lady."

"Not only that, she would die. Humans can't support a Time Lord biology, her head would explode with merely the knowledge. It's just not possible." The Doctor rubbed the short hair on his head. If only it was possible. It would solve all their problems, plus, she could stay with him forever.

"Doctor?" Jack asked, interrupting his rumination.

"Yeah?"

"Why is Rose's DNA failing?"

"I don't know." In the silence that followed they could hear birds making strange noises from the forest behind their hut. Jack swayed his hammock back and forth lazily.

"Cellular reprogramming...sounds a lot like regeneration." The Doctor shook his head even though Jack couldn't see it.

"Not really. The Kitarans are born half-human, half-Kitaran. Their cell make up is unstable, which is why they need the Water of Alaverez. I wish I could meet the scientist who created that device. She sounds fantastic!" Jack laughed.

"Been a long time since I've heard you say that word Doc." The Doctor remembered his bet with Rose, back before they saw Hitler, what felt like so long ago.

_"Y'know, I think you're addicted to that word."_

"Been a long time since I've had a need to." He turned over on his side, his dark eyes swirling with mixed emotions. "Get a lot of sleep tonight. Tomorrow will be one of the hardest we've had in a while."

"Looking forward to it." Jack grumbled sarcastically. In a few minutes all the Doctor could hear was Jack's soft snoring. The Doctor closed his eyes and let his mind drift to Rose and their time together for the millionth time that day.

* * *

**Kiyl = Kyle, Wyni = Winnie**

******_Coming up next: The Doctor and Jack begin their first test, but nothing in their entire lives have prepared them for what they have to do..._**

**Fun fact: I'm reading through the Eragon book series right now(fantastic btw!) and on page 204 of the third book _Brisingr_ Arya the elf writes a contemplation in the sand: _"Adrift upon the sea of time, the lonely god wanders from shore to distant shore, upholding the laws of the stars above."_ Anyways, I never thought much of it, until I read the acknowledgements on page 763(same book), where the author Paolini says: _"...My only excuse _(for that scene)_ is that the Doctor can travel everywhere, even alternate realities. Hey, I'm a fan too!"_ He nearly gave me a heart attack when I read that!(It's a good thing I was alone, else my family would have thought I was crazy!) What a cool thing I wasn't expecting, and now I respect Paolini so much more now :D ('Course, I picture Ten wandering through Alagaësia, only because he fits the 'lonely god' persona best.)  
**


	20. Her Healing Power: Test 1

**Aww only three reviews in two days? And just after the chapter where I said I hope I wouldn't disappoint :/ But SLY had a few new story alerts so I'm updating anyway.**

* * *

Chapter 20 – Her Healing Power (Test 1)

_"Get a lot of sleep tonight. Tomorrow will be one of the hardest we've had in a while."_

_"Looking forward to it." Jack grumbled sarcastically. In a few minutes all the Doctor could hear was Jack's soft snoring. The Doctor closed his eyes and let his mind drift to Rose and their time together for the millionth time that day._

* * *

_"Ooh let me pick, let me pick!" Rose giggled at the Doctor's childish tone. Skipping over to the console in his trademark trainers, he flourishly pressed a button and Steve Perry's _Strung Out_ began blaring, the music filtering around the coral structures of the TARDIS.  
_

_"No no no, you got to pick last time!" She shouted, running over and changing the song to _You Make Me Feel_ by Cobra Starship.  
_

_"Augh!" The Doctor cried upon hearing it. He shook his wild hair, trying to get the song out of his head. "You can't dance to that!"  
_

_"Can so!"  
_

_"Can not!"  
_

_"Can so!"  
_

_"Tell you what, how about this?" He switched the song to _Safety Dance_ by Men Without Hats. Without waiting for Rose's answer, he grabbed her by both her hands and swung her around. She laughed in joy and danced with him._

_"We can go where we want to,  
A place where they'll never find.  
And we can act like we come from out of this world  
Leave the real one far behind.  
We can dance!"_

* * *

The Doctor sat up quickly, surprised. He had managed to sleep for the full eight hours. He blinked a few times and put the strange dream aside in his head for later contemplation.

Flexing his hands, he nodded in satisfaction. No wonder humans were so cheery, feeling this energetic after so much sleep. He wondered why it was so bright outside, being early morning, until he remembered that Kitariah 3's sunlight lasted a full 18 hours a day.

He swung off his hammock and unceremoniously dumped a sleeping Jack off of his.

"Hey!" He cried out, rubbing his eyes. "I was dreaming we had landed on a planet inhabited only by females."

"I thought you didn't care which gender."

"Yeah, but if I had to choose, I'd choose women. They've got things we don't." The Doctor shook his head and threw a pile of clothes on Jack, still seated on the ground.

"They won't let us participate unless we dress like they do." He held up a pair of brown shorts and a tan wrap with long tight sleeves. The Doctor stepped out the back door and quickly changed into them. When he came back in he saw Jack's clothes were a bit different than his own, he had short sleeves and the wrap was brown and his shorts tan rather than the other way around.

"Rose would like that." Jack said, grinning mischievously. The Doctor looked down and realised that his wrap only partially covered his bare chest. "Although," Jack continued. "I've seen some better legs."

"Oi!" The Doctor exclaimed, playing along with his game. "Yours are just as bad as mine. Rose would agree with me." He took on a proud stance.

"Rose would agree with you if you told her she was a Slitheen!" They laughed for a moment, before growing silent. They both imagined how she would have replied to that. They missed her.

"You ready?" The Doctor suddenly said, remembering what was on the agenda for the day.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Jack gestured to the door.

* * *

It seemed the entire village had heard about the two hairless strangers who were taking the grueling tests to join their tribe. The Doctor and Jack stood outside in front of the Council members who had also gathered. Mysti, Wyni and the young Kiyl stood beside them, looking more like an adult with his new large ears, red fur and bushy tail. Mysti and Wyni each held a syringe and a strange vial filled with a yellow liquid. Tribe leader Pityr stood in front of them and waved his arms to quiet the crowd down.

"The Doctor and Jack Harkness have requested to become members of our tribe. They have accepted the challenge to endure tremendous tests of skill, endurance, instinct and moral capacity."

"Moral capacity?" Jack whispered but the Doctor shushed him and Pityr continued to address the crowd.

"Those in favor of allowing them to take the tests and maybe in the future accepting them into our tribe?" The Doctor and Jack were forced to cover their ears from the deafening shouts and clapping from the large group, Kiyl and the two girls among them.

"And all those not in favor?" There were a few who disagreed but overall it was not as many as those in favor.

"It's settled." Pityr said. "The Doctor and Jack Harkness will begin the tests." He motioned for Mysti and Wyni to come forward.

"The first test is the Test of Endurance and Understanding." He told them. Mysti and Wyni held up the vials for all to see. The crowd began to clap and roar, obviously knowing what that meant.

"Hold on!" The Doctor cried out. "What's in those vials?"

"Unlike our ancestors Doctor," Pityr told him, a small smile creeping on his face. "We have scientists. Not the most skilled ones, but skilled enough to develop a compound that contains our DNA. In order to fully understand us and our race, you must become like us and endure what we've all had to go through in the last few hundred years. Don't worry, it's only temporary." The two females filled the syringes.

"Wait!" Jack stopped them. "Won't that kill us? You don't even know the Doctor's genetic makeup, you could cause him to regenerate, or worse!"

"No Jack, it's fine." The Doctor reassured him.

"No, it's not!" He replied, twisting to look at him. "Why are you so willing to give up your life at every stop?"

"For her Jack, _for her._ I will die, over and over, for Rose. Inject me." He came up to Mysti and rolled up the sleeve on his tunic.

"It's your head." Jack resigned and came up to Wyni, having no need to roll up his short sleeve.

"Good luck." Mysti whispered in the Doctor's ear as she injected the needle. Jack winced as his went through but the Doctor's face remained impassive. Mysti pulled the needle back out and rubbed the area with a cotton cloth, before rejoining Pityr. Soon Wyni joined them too.

"I don't feel anything." Jack said, fear clear in his eyes. He didn't fear death, but he sure hated pain.

"Just wait for it." The Doctor replied. Ten more strained seconds went by, then suddenly the Doctor felt a twinge in the pit of his stomach. Because Jack had a different biology than the Doctor's, he had a slightly different reaction. The Doctor assumed this as Jack doubled over in pain.

The crowd was completely silent in anticipation.

Tingles ran up and down his skin, before turning to fire. The Doctor could feel each and every cell rewriting itself, and it burned more and more with each passing second.

Finally it became unbearable. He collapsed to his knees, trying to stay upright but instead falling to the ground and convulsing. Jack's body had already stilled.

Rose's face flashed in the Doctor's mind and he felt like he was never going to see her again.

"Rose." He groaned, closing his eyes and giving into the pain. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

Then suddenly he saw her. His Rose as the Bad Wolf, not in his mind but in front of his eyes. She bent down to his side, put one hand on his forehead, the other on his hearts. She didn't speak a single word, just let her healing power run through him. The Doctor felt his cells realigning again and fell into a deep, relieved sleep.

_"I hate feeling like this_.  
_ I'm so tired of trying to fight this_.  
_ I'm asleep and all I dream of_,  
_Is waking to you!_  
_ Tell me that you will listen_,  
_ Your touch is what I'm missing_.  
_ And the more I hide I realize I'm  
Slowly Losing You!_  
_Comatose_...  
_ I'll never wake up without an overdose  
of you!_

_I don't wanna live,  
I don't wanna breathe,  
'les I feel you next to me.  
You take the pain I feel.  
Waking up to you never felt so real!  
I don't wanna sleep,  
I don't wanna dream.  
'Cause my dreams don't comfort me.  
The way you make me feel,  
Waking up to you never felt so real!"_

* * *

A few minutes later he opened his eyes slowly.

_Breathing life_,  
_ Waking up_.  
_ My eyes open up..._

* * *

**Yes the songs for Ten and Rose at the beginning are symbolic. _Strung Out_ is about a guy who loves a girl who is someone else's girl(coughMICKEYcough). AND IT'S STEVE PERRY. 'NUFF SAID. _You Make Me Feel_, well it's kind of what Rose wishes what the Doctor wants from her. And _Safety Dance_ is them leaving everyone else behind and just having fun. Because the Doctor changed the song to it from the other two, it's also a symbol of how they always dance around their feelings. The song at the end is _Comatose_ by Skillet, don't forget it, it's the theme song/inspiration for this story/title.**_  
_

**_Next: Did it work?_  
**


	21. Changes: Test 2

**Why didn't I update yesterday? I meant to... O.o  
**

**If you thought it was weird before, it's reaching a whole new level now...**

* * *

Chapter 21 – Changes (Test 2)

_Finally the pain became unbearable. He collapsed to his knees, trying to stay upright but instead falling to the ground and convulsing._

_"Rose." He groaned, closing his eyes and giving into the pain. "I'm sorry." He whispered._

_Then suddenly he saw her. His Rose as the Bad Wolf, not in his mind but in front of his eyes. She bent down to his side, put one hand on his forehead, the other on his hearts. She didn't speak a single word, just let her healing power run through him. The Doctor felt his cells realigning again and fell into a deep, relieved sleep._

_A few minutes later he opened his eyes slowly._

* * *

The Doctor slowly sat up and noticed three things. 1, he noticed the crowd was gaping at him, as if they had seen a ghost, 2, he noticed Mysti, Wyni and a few others huddled over where Jack had fallen, who was still unconscious, and 3, he noticed the change had worked.

The change had worked! The Doctor had become a Kitaran.

He noticed that his fur was a deep dark gray, rather than the normal red of the Kitarans. Flexing his new paws which sort of looked like hands with fur on them, he felt a strange sensation underneath him. Reaching behind, he pulled his immense tail out through the hole in his Kitaran designed shorts. He was careful not to touch his sharp fangs with his tongue.

He stood up and expected the crowd to cheer loudly at his successful transformation but all he heard was silence. He turned to Pityr whose eyes were large. Kiyl spoke out.

"There...there was this woman, a wolf garbed in gold." The crowd murmured in agreement.

"The Bad Wolf." The Doctor said, in awe. Why had she allowed herself to be seen by the Kitarans? Obviously she had the power to if she could keep him from dying during his change.

Suddenly Pityr got down on one knee and lowered his head in reverence. The rest of the tribe followed suit.

"You've been touched by her hand." He explained. "The Wolf has granted you peace and life, even now you look more like her than us." The Doctor gave an embarrassed smile, then noticed the group still huddled around Jack.

"What happened to my friend?" He came up to his side and pushed the others out of his way. He noticed Jack's new fur was also a different color, a rich chocolate brown. But his friend's eyes remained shut.

"We don't understand it," Mysti said. "The drug shouldn't have killed him, he has a biology similar to our ancestors and he looked strong enough." She placed a paw on Jack's cheek. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." The Doctor said casually, moving Mysti's paw off his cheek. "His body is so used to dying when it encounters any kind of pain, he just used it as a means of escape." He paused, thinking _"Wait for it..."_ he always thought when Jack died.

Jack suddenly gasped and opened his eyes, his muzzle twitching in surprise. The crowd gasped at the unexpected.

"The foxes killed me." He murmured. "No wait, I'm a fox!" He cried as he noticed his own paws and saw the Doctor's change.

"Switch for you, being the fox for once huh?" The Doctor said and smiled.

"Actually," Wyni interrupted. "You both look more like wolves. Your coloring, your snouts are a bit longer, your tails are not as bushy and more curved." She looked between them in confusion. "But the Bad Wolf never touched Jack, we all saw her."

"Oh she touched him many years ago." The Doctor explained as they helped Jack up. "She's had her hand...paw in his biology for a while now."

The Doctor and Jack stood before the crowd, and the Doctor held his furry hands out to his sides.

"We're ready for the tests."

The crowd went wild.

* * *

"You both have successfully passed the Test of Endurance and Understanding." Pityr said, coming up and shaking their hands, err, paws. He raised an eyebrow at Jack. "Though, we're not sure if we can allow the Captain to pass if he keeps...dying."

"I'll try not to." Jack replied, a bit sarcastically.

"Take a breather." Pityr said, addressing them both. "Get used to your new forms. Your next test will begin when the sun hits its' zenith."

As the crowd began to disperse, the Doctor leaned over to whisper to Jack. "Don't get any bright ideas. We won't be Kitarans forever." Jack scowled at him but didn't reply. "Cheer up." The Doctor said, wagging his tail. "Could be fun." Jack grinned.

"If only Rose could see you now." The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows.

"I think she already has."

* * *

The two of them had mingled within the tribe, asking others questions about their new bodies and how best to approach the tests. However, as the Kitarans still stayed a head taller above them, the Doctor and Jack remained the same height as their human forms.

The kids especially were attentive to them, though they noticed some of the children were fearful when talking about the change they would all soon go through, seeing how painful it would be. Jack and the Doctor did their best to allay their fears.

* * *

"We will take our first meal before you start your next test." Mysti informed them.

"What do we eat, now that we have bodies like you?" Jack asked her.

"The same as us." She grinned. "We_ are _carnivores you know."

"I hope it's not rats." Jack mumbled. But he was pleasantly surprised. The hunters in the tribe had found a herd of what they called Taros, and the meat, after being cooked (much to Jack's delight), tasted a lot like beef.

"Don't eat too much." The Doctor reminded Jack. "Can't be too full for our next test, whatever it is."

"Mm." Jack replied, his mouth full. "Gonna be hard. All I had for dinner last night was some herbs and flowers." The Doctor felt more hungry than usual as well.

"Our changing genes are trying to cope by requiring more nutrients." He deduced.

* * *

For the next test Pityr led them to what looked like a large wooden box with no top, about thirty feet in diameter on the inside and the walls about twenty feet tall. There were holes the size of large books five feet apart on the wall and seven feet up, the same size of the Kitaran height.

"The next test is the Test of Instinct and Agility. You will take it one at a time." The Doctor stepped up first and was lead over to the door leading to the inside of the massive box, which the Doctor figured was a skill ring, testing how he could dodge whatever they threw at him. He hoped it wasn't spears. Mysti locked the door behind him, her eyes full of concern. She had obviously grown to care for her new friend's well-being.

"Wait!" Jack interjected. "Aren't you going to tell him the rules?"

"It's the Test of Intuition. He couldn't fully pass it if he knew the rules." Wyni told him.

"Doctor, be careful!" Jack yelled to him. He saw five or six Kitarans carrying bows and arrows and stationing themselves in front of the holes in the walls.

"That was the plan!" The Doctor cried back. He was standing on the tips of his paws and crouched, his eyes darting in every direction. He was exploring his new instincts, his heightened sense of hearing, sight and smell.

It was quiet for about a minute, then the Doctor felt something, like he knew danger was coming. He rolled to the left and an arrow thudded into the wood behind him. He threw himself flat on the ground as two more whizzed above his head. Leaping back up, he turned a complete circle and caught a few glimpses of the bows that shot the arrows through the holes in the walls. The Doctor jumped and catapulted himself off the wall, barely dodging a hailstorm of arrows below him. He was impressed at his improved agility as he landed on the ground.

* * *

The only thing Jack could hear was the thudding of the arrows against the wood and the occasional grunt the Doctor would make when he narrowly missed becoming a pincushion.

* * *

This went on for about ten minutes. The Doctor winced at the cut on his new tail; he wasn't used to protecting a tail from arrows. He learned his lesson and kept it draped around his side.

Then his sixth sense of danger seemed to fade and the Doctor straightened up, knowing his test was done. When Mysti let him out she saw her eyes roam over his body until stopping at the trail of blood on his tail.

"You're hurt!" She cried softly.

"I'm fine." He replied, walking away from her. She ran after him.

"Let me fix it up for you."

"No, save your supplies for Jack, he's gonna need it more."

"Hey!"

* * *

The Doctor was right, Jack didn't fare as well. He winced as Wyni pulled an arrow out of his side. She shook her head in wonder as his wound immediately closed up.

"Well done Jack." The Doctor said, standing nearby watching. "You only died twice."

"I'm used to dying. Arrows, spears, bullets, knives, lasers, the occasional kitchen fork, you name it. But I'm not used to having a tail." He replied. "Kept getting in the way." It swished back and forth and whapped Wyni on her back.

"Sorry." He said.

"You'd better be sorry if they don't let you pass the test and I'll have to complete the rest on my own to get the water for Rose." The Doctor reminded him.

"I don't think you'll be worrying about that." They both turned around as the Leader of the Council walked up to them. "The only way you could fail Jack is if you die permanently. It's apparent that the Bad Wolf believes in you and has her paw in your life." He looked at the Doctor. "She also has her paw in yours but you'll have to work harder to actually complete the tests."

"But he can't die either, sort of." Jack interjected, scratching his ear.

"Not really." The Doctor told Pityr. "I can die, it's just a little harder to kill me permanently." He glared at Jack, who merely shrugged.

* * *

**Strange place to end it I know, but it's the perfect length for a chapter and the next one starts the next test.**

**_Coming up: Only two more tests where the difficulty is steadily escalating. Can _****Jack successfully complete them** and the Doctor make it through alive?

**Coincidentally, one of my favorite authors posted a chapter of her story where the character(s) are changed into a creature/animal(I don't want to give spoilers away). It's really good,_ Survival of the Fittest_ by_ cheri1. _^^_  
_**


	22. Trial and Error: Test 3

**Yyeahh, two updates in one day. Just cuz I'm that way and I meant to update yesterday :D**

* * *

Chapter 22 – Trial and Error (Test 3)

_It's apparent that the Bad Wolf believes in you and has her paw in your life." Pityr said to Jack, then turned to look at the Doctor. "She also has her paw in yours but you'll have to work harder to actually complete the tests."_

* * *

"The third test is the Test of Fighting and Strength."

A fighting ring had been positioned in the dirt. Two giant and muscly Kitarans stood on either side of Pityr, grinning and flexing their paws. It was almost comical how much shorter Pityr was because of his young age compared with the towering height of the fighters beside him.

"I thought foxes didn't have muscles." Jack whispered to the Doctor.

"Foxes don't, but Kitarans do. They are half-human...ish." He corrected him. Mysti stood beside them.

"That's Jerymi and Danyil." She explained. "The toughest members of our tribe." The Doctor shrugged but Jack looked a little nervous.

"I've been trained in ju-jitsu, Kung Fu and three forms of Karate, not to mention other alien fighting forms." The Doctor informed her.

"I just let them kill me." Jack said, grinning.

"You can't die this time Jack." Mysti said. "It would ruin the whole purpose of the test."

"But Pityr, he said..."

"I know what Pityr said, I was standing right there." She snapped, a littler harsher than she intended. She lowered her tone. "I'm just giving you a head's up, in case he changes his mind, influencing the Council as well."

"He does that?" The Doctor asked. Mysti nodded.

"Pityr's a great tribal leader, one of the best we've had. But he does change his mind a lot." She looked up into the sky. "And I would agree with him on this. We don't just give the tests out because we're cruel, we're determining whether or not you have the ability to be worthy of our tribe. Dying would disprove that." She straightened up when Pityr cleared his throat.

"Which one of you is the better fighter?" The Doctor stepped forward and Jack pulled back. "Very well, you will fight Jerymi." The bigger of the two stepped into the ring. The Doctor nodded and did likewise, stretching the muscles in his arms and neck.

"These are the rules." Pityr beckoned Mysti over, and she stepped in between the two in the ring.

"The match will go as follows." She began "The Doctor and Jerymi will fight, using their arms and legs. There will be no biting." She glanced at the Doctor, wondering if he would have used his newly acquired fangs. "The first one down on the ground for more than ten seconds will be declared the loser." She looked back and forth between the competitors until they acknowledged their understanding.

"I thought it would be a fight to the death or something." Jack muttered to Wyni who was standing beside him.

"We don't encourage death in our teens, much less our adults." She explained.

"Let the match begin!" Pityr declared as soon as Mysti was out of the ring.

Jerymi paced back and forth on his side of the ring, waiting to see what his opponent would do. But the Doctor merely stood on his side, looking as calm as can be. This only angered the Kitaran. With a growl, Jerymi attacked him, but at the last second the Doctor suddenly turned and dodged him. As Jerymi spun around in surprise, the Doctor delivered a single blow to his stomach. Jerymi collapsed on the ground, groaning. He attempted to get back up but every time he tried he cried out in pain, thus ending the fight.

"Can you teach me that sometime, like right now?" Jack said as the Doctor stepped out of the ring and two others came to help Jerymi out. The Doctor cast a worried glance at the Council members who had suddenly gathered for an impromptu meeting; obviously discussing the validity of the Doctor's fight.

"They think I cheated. I took him down too fast." He commented.

"Yeah, but you also took down their best fighter, that's gotta mean something. I'm more worried about my fight." The Doctor turned to his friend and saw that he truly was worried. "I don't mind dying over and over but I don't want to let Rose down." He added.

"Relax, just take him slow, wear him out. The Kitarans get angry easily."

"Unlike what you did."

"Hey, I told you, I know many different forms of fighting. I learned that move from an old retired fighter back on Telosolsa in my previous life."

"How many forms of you does Rose know?" Jack asked casually, hoping to distract his worried thoughts about the upcoming fight.

"Just this one, though I've already told her about regeneration and such. I hope this'll be the only one she'll know for a long time."

"If we ever make it through these tests alive."

"Don't worry, you definitely will." He smirked.

"Thanks for the reminder." They both turned back around as Mysti came up to them.

"Jack's test will now begin." She motioned for Jack to enter the ring and the Doctor caught Mysti smiling at him. He grinned back, knowing he had won his match.

But Jack's trial just got a little bit harder.

* * *

Jack gulped nervously, seeing the fighter Danyil towering over him. Taking a deep breath and remembering the Doctor's instructions, he made the first move. He attempted to punch him the same way the Doctor had brought down Jerymi, but Danyil easily blocked it by grabbing Jack's incoming paw and holding it, before bringing his other paw up to smack him in the face. Jack reeled back as his muzzle began to bleed.

As Danyil went to kick him Jack grabbed his foot, using the leverage to spin him down to the ground. His opponent quickly got back up and charged. But Jack ducked and used momentum to send the Kitaran flying over his back. But this time Danyil was ready. In an eloquent move, he spun back up and grabbed Jack by the arm, forcing him to the ground. The crowd gasped as a loud _'crack'_ rang out and Jack cried out in pain.

"Jack, think of Rose, don't let her down!" Wyni called to him. With a sudden burst of energy he reversed the move and brought Danyil down to the ground with him, jumping on top of him and keeping his hand on a pressure point on his neck.

Danyil struggled for a bit but soon realized it was useless. Jack had found his will, and nothing the Kitaran could do would get him back up. He held both his paws up in defeat, and Jack let him up. The crowd, including the Doctor, cheered his victory.

* * *

"Ow!" Jack cried as Wyni tried to reset his dislocated shoulder. He blanched and clenched his teeth as she pushed his limb back into place with a loud _'pop'._

"Here, let me." The Doctor said as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and ran the blue light over Jack's injured area.

"You know, defeating Danyil was quite something Jack." Wyni said as she stepped back to let the Doctor in.

"Thanks." He grinned at her.

"You don't even know the worst of it." She continued. "Danyil was trying to win my hand in marriage. His fight against you would have been the incredible task he needed to do for me."

"I'm sorry." Jack said.

"Don't be." Wyni replied. "Now I can either reject his proposal or let him do another daring act."

"Which have you decided?" Jack asked her.

"I haven't chosen yet." She threw a sly smile at Jack, who smirked as well.

"But you cheered for him." The Doctor reminded Wyni, who was still tending to Jack's shoulder. "You told Jack to 'do it for Rose'."

"Well, I want to see you bring your Rose here alive and healthy."

"I'm sure she'll like it here." The Doctor replied.

"We'd be honored by her presence."

"Oh please, don't worship her, she'll absolutely hate it."

"Really?" Wyni cocked her head at him. Jack nodded in agreement.

"She's just a human now, she doesn't remember being the Bad Wolf. It will only make her uncomfortable."

"I'll let the rest of the tribe know." The Doctor twisted the side of his muzzle in thought.

"There." The Doctor said to Jack. "Try that."

"Much better." Jack said, rotating his furry shoulder. The three of them looked up upon hearing another enter the hut. It was Mysti.

"Congratulations on your victory Jack." She bowed to him. "Actually, both your fights were incredible. Jerymi and Danyil are our two best fighters; no one hardly ever defeats them and you two brought them down in minutes. Or seconds in your case." She winked at the Doctor. She then shook her head in awe. "The Bad Wolf truly does want you to have the water of Alaverez for your Rose."

"Because she is the Bad Wolf!" Jack yelled in frustration but the Doctor waved him off, addressing Mysti in a calmer manner.

"Then why don't you just give us the water, if we're supposed to have it?" Her ears flicked in disagreement.

"Sorry Doctor, it's the law of our tribe. We must obey it, or else everything we stand for falls apart." She shrugged. "Rest up, get your injuries healed...Jack." She added, remembering how quickly the Doctor had ended his fight. "Your final test start at sundown."

"And what's the final test?" Jack asked. The Doctor answered for her.

"The test of Moral Capacity and Wisdom."

* * *

**Jerymi - Jeremy**

**Danyil - Daniel  
**

**_Next: Jack seems a bit worried about this next test, and with good reason. But the Doctor has a dark past as well...And there's a surprise at the end of the chapter!_  
**


	23. Worthy? Final Test 4

**Vote for Rose Tyler as greatest woman in DW history! Please it only takes two seconds! THE BAD WOLF MUST WIN! www. bbcamerica. c-o-m /anglophenia/ 2012/08 /vote-whos-the-greatest-woman-of-doctor-who-ever /2/**

**(without the spaces and hyphens in com)**

* * *

Chapter 23: Worthy? – Final Test 4

_"Your final test start at sundown."_

_"And what's the final test?" Jack asked. The Doctor answered for Mysti._

_"The test of Moral Capacity and Wisdom."_

* * *

At sundown the Doctor and Jack were taken to two separate huts. Two members of the council began to interview them to determine their moral capacity. The Doctor's interviewer was Trypir, an older male Kitaran, his red fur showing signs of grey. Jack's interviewer was Mychil, Mysti's older brother. The following is a portion of how their interviews went:

_Trypir/Mychil: 1. There's been an ecological disaster in our village. When searching for the injured you find a crying child and an injured adult, what do you do?_

_ Doctor: Attend to the child and then the adult._

_ Jack: Help the child but first find another to help the adult._

_ Trypir/Mychil: 2. A Kitaran from another tribe attacks you. How do you retaliate?_

_ Doctor: End the fight as quickly as possible avoiding injury to both._

_ Jack: Honestly? I've learned if I let them kill me they'll go away._

_ Trypir/Mychil: 3. You've heard about another species suffering from partial genetic disorder and you know the water will help them. What is your course of action?_

_ Doctor: Address the Council on behalf of the other species._

_ Jack: Umm...encourage a member of the other species to take the tests to join this tribe._

_ Trypir/Mychil: 4. Have you ever taken a life?_

_ Doctor: I was a soldier, in a war called the Time War, which eventually destroyed my entire planet. I killed many fighting for Gallifrey._

_ Jack: I'm not sure._

_ Mychil: You're not sure?_

_ Jack: One day I woke up and discovered someone had wiped my memory over a space of two years. I still haven't gained it back. Also, a few years ago I had a mind-control device placed in my head by the Josnian government. They killed many through me._

* * *

There were numerous other questions that stretched the time out into the night. Once they were done they let the Doctor and Jack return to their hut and sleep until their results were ready in the morning.

* * *

Long after darkness had covered the valley, the Doctor stirred into wakefulness. He should have known, too much sleep made him unfocused. He swung out of the hammock and tiptoed out. He winced as Jack snored particularly loudly.

Any ordinary human would not have been able to see in the darkness, but with the Doctor's Time Lord/Kitaran heightened eyesight, he had no problems.

Being that their hut was just on the edge of the forest, the Doctor was able to find a tree. In one move he swung himself up and grabbed the limb, pulling his body up. Moving his tail out of the way so it hung down, he sat on the tree limb, deep in thought. He brought back to mind the dream he had the night before.

_"No no no, you got to pick last time!"_

_"Tell you what, how about this?" He switched the song to Safety Dance by Men Without Hats. Without waiting for Rose's answer, he grabbed her by both her hands and swung her around. She laughed in joy and danced with him._

The dream had obviously been Rose and his Tenth form, as some sort of premonition. But there was no sort of danger, and overall he and Rose looked happy and content. The only thing he didn't like was the lack of flirting.

He groaned. Since when had he become so domestic? Rose would just giggle at that.

After a few minutes the Doctor came to the conclusion that the dream just meant a warning of how far backwards they would progress if he didn't hurry and keep his mind focused on the task at hand.

The Doctor felt a tug on his tail. Looking down he saw Jack standing below, looking up at him.

"Enough on that tree limb for two?" He asked. The Doctor nodded, moving over to make room. Jack came up with ease as well.

"Thinking about Rose?"

"Yeah." _Wasn't it obvious?_

No other words were spoken. Everything they had said had already been said before. So they just merely enjoyed the silent company of their friendship, with a huge space missing in both their hearts. Their Rose.

_She would be sitting between them, teasing them about their new fur and paws. Who knows, maybe she would have some of her own. She would lean into the Doctor's shoulder and listen wholeheartedly as Jack told a story about one of his famous escapades. Then she would sigh and place her hand in the Doctor's, snuggling closer to him to ward off the cold._

The Doctor blinked a few times, feeling the first hint of sun rays coming up over the horizon. It would still be awhile before it was daylight and the results of their final test would be revealed.

"Well, I'm going to try to get a few more hours of sleep in. Who knows when we'll have the chance to rest again until these damn missions are over." Jack hopped down and looked at the Doctor one last time. He noticed the unease on his face.

"We're going to pass." Jack said.

"I know." The Doctor replied. Then Jack left, leaving him to his own ruminations until morning.

* * *

The daylight shone brightly on Kitariah 3. The Doctor and Jack stood in front of the council, the entire tribe at their back.

The Doctor desperately hoped that they would be deemed worthy enough to join their tribe; he really didn't want to resort to stealing the Water of Alaverez from them, but he would do it for Rose.

Life seemed to hang in the balance as the Council conferred one last time.

The Doctor felt someone squeeze his paw. He turned and saw Mysti standing by his side, a smile of hope on her face. He also saw Wyni doing the same for Jack. He returned Mysti's smile. Looking back at the Council, he took a deep breath and waited.

* * *

After what seemed like hours but was in reality only a few minutes, Pityr stood up and addressed the crowd.

"According to our laws and principles that we have upheld for years, the Doctor and Captain Jack Harkness, in our form, have endured the trials that would deem them worthy to join our tribe. After evaluating their answers from the final test, the Council has come to a conclusion." He paused, and after a few seconds, let a small smile creep on his face.

"You both are worthy to join the Fifth Tribe."

"Yes!" The Doctor and Jack hugged each other roughly, laughing in sheer relief. The Doctor then turned and hugged Mysti and then Wyni, joy filling his heart. One more item obtained for Rose's cure.

"Is there some sort of ritual to join now?" Jack asked Mysti.

"No, it's enough that Pityr and the Council have accepted you." She grabbed the Doctor's paw. "Come on, I'll take you to the Stone of Alaverez." The four of them ran, laughing the whole way. The crowd followed them.

* * *

Upon reaching the stone, the Doctor crouched in front of it and pulled a vial from a pocket in his shorts.

"Wait." Mysti stayed his paw, taking the vial from him. She nodded at Wyni, who began to pour water through the top of the stone. Mysti grabbed the Doctor's paws and placed them under the purplish water that came out. To his surprise he found his human flesh returning, followed by the rest of his body. And it didn't hurt a bit. The Doctor was no longer Kitaran.

Jack came over and Mysti did the same for him. Within minutes Jack was human again. The Time Lord looked over at him and they both grinned. Mysti handed him the vial and the Doctor gratefully filled it. After it was full he put the top back on and returned it to his pocket.

"Doctor!" He turned around at the shout and saw Kiyl running up to them. His eyes opened a bit in surprise, seeing them back in their human forms. The teenage Kitaran shook his head, remembering what he had to tell them. "The scientist, she's here! The one who developed the stone, she's returned from the 8th isle!" Clearly the crowd was excited to hear this news. Both Mysti and Wyni grinned.

The tribe behind them parted and a human woman came forward, clothed in an elaborate Kitaran-inspired dress: tan, short sleeves, flared out at the knees, and a brown belt around her tiny middle. Her brown curly hair was pulled up in a ponytail. She grinned.

"I heard there was a Doctor attempting to join the Fifth Tribe. I figured it would be you." The Doctor's mouth dropped in absolute shock.

"N...Nyssa!"

* * *

**I know, aren't I awesome? xD  
**

**_Next: The Doctor experiences a blast from his past, and the next mission is revealed..._  
**

**Mychil - Michael, Trypir - Tripper (In honor of my favorite character Tripp on ST: Enterprise...even though I never watch it and Voyager rules all...xP)  
**

**Writing that line about the three of them together on the tree limb made me really miss some good Doctor/Rose/Jack fluff, now I'm all depressed :P Good thing my favorite fluffy fics are waiting in my favorites' list. If you feel the same I recommend _Sleeptalking _****by _Stephy-Lou Clark-Weasley_**(Series 4 group+Torchwood), _A Year's Free Supply of Marmalade _**by _reddwarfaddict _**(Ten/Rose) and _I Didn't Just Hear That _**by _RagamuffinSundrop_**(9/Rose/Jack, rated a strict T or weak M)  



	24. Blast From the Past

Chapter 24 – Blast From the Past

_"I heard there was a Doctor attempting to join the Fifth Tribe. I figured it would be you." The Doctor's mouth dropped in absolute shock._

_"N...Nyssa!"_

* * *

The Doctor was completely silent, too shocked to even speak. Nyssa stood in front of him, garbed in the traditional Kitaran clothing and about 20 years of age since the Doctor had seen her last, which was hundreds of years ago. She giggled at the gaping look on his face.

"By your expression I guess you are the Doctor I was hoping you would be." Without a word the Doctor suddenly reached out and embraced her. She laughed in delight.

"I thought you were dead." He whispered in her ear, nearly on the verge of tears. She didn't reply, only hugged him tighter.

"Doctor, won't you introduce me?" Jack's request seemed to snap the Doctor out of his stupor. He let go of her.

"This is Nyssa, of Trakken."

"Captain Jack Harkness." He went to kiss her hand but heard a distinct growling from the Doctor. "Of Trakken?" He said instead. "Wasn't that planet completely destroyed years ago?"

"I'm the only survivor." She replied soberly.

"But...how are you still alive?" The Doctor asked. "After dropping you off on Terminus I thought for sure you'd succumb to the Lazar disease!" She smiled.

"Well, against all odds, we actually found a cure! Long story, anyway, after that I studied medical science and then traveled across the galaxy, helping those I came across, until I ended up here. I saw signs of you everywhere. Speaking of which," She raised an eyebrow, checking him out. "It looks like you've been through a few regenerations since I last saw you."

"Four." The Doctor said, remembering the farewell kiss Nyssa had planted on his cheek all those years ago.

_"Like you I'm indestructible."_

"You know about regeneration?" Jack asked.

"Yes." The Doctor replied. "She was there in my Fourth life when I fell off the Pharos Project Telescope and regenerated into my Fifth life."

"Ooh." Jack winced.

"Tell me about it."

"Adric and Tegan were there too." Nyssa added, looking a little downcast. "Tegan, what happened to her?"

"She's alive. She stayed on Earth in her time line. She couldn't handle the death and danger of my life. Turlough went back to his home planet too."

"There was a lot of death." She agreed. "I'm glad they're okay. I always wondered about you guys after I left." She paused. "So, tell me about your Rose. She's sort of a legend here."

* * *

"You're a member of this tribe?" The Doctor asked his former companion.

"Yes, the Fifth Tribe, right here. Five seemed to be my number." Nyssa grinned at him knowingly.

"You had to go through all those trials?" Jack asked, his eyes big.

"Yes, but it's designed differently for females, plus they went easier on me when I told them I was willing to help with their genetic disorders. I remember being so nervous about my fight."

"They made you fight?!" Danyil's towering image sprang to Jack's mind.

"Yes, but a female."

"It wasn't Mysti was it?" Jack looked over at Mysti who was conversing with Pityr and Wyni, her toned muscles rippling down her arms and legs.

"Oh no, she was way too young back then. I fought Danyelle, Danyil's older sister. I believe you've already met Danyil." Jack shivered, rotating his previously dislocated shoulder.

"And you took her down?" The Doctor cried, hugging her again. "That's my Nyssa!"

"Took me three tries, but yeah I finally got her down; though I think she let me win, knowing how badly I wanted to join their tribe and help them. And besides," She pushed the Doctor away on the arm playfully. "I thought being 'your Nyssa' was being all cute, smart and quiet. You knew I was never a fighter."

"I saw what you could become. Not...not a fighter." He stumbled over his words. "But a woman who could change destinies and worlds. Who could be something amazing." He recovered. Nyssa blushed, touched by his kind words but also embarrassed by them.

"Well, obviously I couldn't see what you could become." She grinned. "I miss your flop of blond hair." She looked at his short hair, a mock sorrowful look on her face.

"You had blond hair?" Jack burst out laughing and the Doctor rubbed the short hair on his head, frowning. "Does Rose know?" Jack gasped, nearly on the ground in laughter. "You coulda been siblings!" This only made him laugh harder. Even Nyssa chuckled some.

"Rose likes my hair." The Doctor muttered, ignoring Jack. Suddenly he stopped. "Rose." He leapt up and pulled out the vial in his pocket containing the purplish water. He fingered the edge in guilt. How could he have forgotten?

"Go." Nyssa told him. "Bring her back here alive for all of us to meet her." The Doctor nodded once, then took off for the TARDIS.

Once the Doctor was out of sight Jack kissed Nyssa's hand one last time, winked at her, then ran in the direction the Doctor had gone.

* * *

"That took way too much time." The Doctor said as Jack closed the doors to the TARDIS.

"But you got to see your old companion again." Jack replied. "And we did get the water." The Doctor ran around the console hurriedly, flicking levers and pushing buttons.

"Every minute we spend wasting time is another minute Rose is closer to slipping away forever." His fingers flew over the keyboard of the TARDIS, throwing the living machine into the vortex. Jack grabbed the list that was sitting just above a big blue button labeled 'stabilizer'.

"Well, the next item is an energy conductor made from Lazarinian technology." The Doctor's hands immediately stopped. "Do you know where to find that?" The Doctor looked up, his ice blue eyes showing distress.

"No, I don't."

"What do you mean you don't? You're supposed to know these things!"

"I can't know everything!" The Doctor snapped at him. Jack raised his hands in defense. The Doctor lowered his head, his mind a blank. Finally he spoke quietly to the TARDIS.

"I'm gonna need your help with this one old girl. For once I have no idea where to go. You always seem to know where to land in times like this."

_ "I always take you where you need to go."_

There was a soft beep and the Doctor looked up to see the console screen had been turned on. Jack came over and the two of them read the screen together.

_"Lazarinian Technology is technology and research dealing with DNA, metamorphosis and genetics. Based on the work of a Professor Lazarus of Earth, circa 21st Century England. It all began with the Machine."_

"What kind of a machine?" The Doctor tapped the screen but all that came up was _"Insufficient Data."_

"What does that mean?" Jack asked.

"Either the TARDIS doesn't want us to know until we find out for ourselves, or the circumstances around it are constantly in flux, not a fixed point in time."

"Meaning we're gonna be there changing the events?"

"Yup." The Doctor flicked a switch next to the console screen that sent them heading for 21st Century Earth.

"Wait." Jack stopped him as something else popped up on the TARDIS screen. "It also says that after Lazarus' death shortly after revealing his machine, the technology was deliberately destroyed, obliterating all of his life's work. Researchers said, after thorough study, that it was too dangerous to be released to the public." Jack paused, thinking. "We're gonna kill him."

"As long as we get what we need for Rose and it's not a fixed point in time, we can't help him." Jack wisely decided to not pursue that subject.

* * *

"Earth, London, 2007." The two of them stepped out into daylight. Jack turned around and saw a television store directly behind them with TVs in the window.

_"I am Professor Lazarus."_ The Doctor turned around, hearing the familiar name coming from one of the TVs. "_The_ _details are top secret," _the man was saying. "_But I can tell you that tonight, I_ _will demonstrate a device which will_…_"_

"Look how old he is." Jack said over the TV. "Maybe he dies of natural causes."

"I wouldn't count on it." The Doctor replied, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"…_with_ _the_ _push_ _of_ _a_ _single button,"_ Lazarus continued. _"I __will_ _change what_ _it means_ _to_ _be human." _Jack and the Doctor looked at each other in shock.

"Did he just say he's gonna change what it means to be human?"

"Yup."

* * *

**_The Lazarus Experiment_ is not one of my favorite episodes _at all_. I mean, Martha, another disgusting monster..._guhh. _I'd rather watch_ Love and Monsters, _at least that has Rose(and epic!Jackie) in it. But I couldn't resist, it fits in perfectly with the DNA angle that's happening in SLY.  
**

**_Next: The Doctor and Jack must confront Lazarus and get the energy conductor...but will all go according to plan?_  
**

**If you couldn't already guess, Kitarans name their children all with the same letter. Brother and sister Mysti and Mychil, and Danyil and Danyelle for example. But now we must say goodbye to Kitariah 3. Who knows, maybe I'll mention them in another fanfic...:) Oh and Danyelle - Danielle  
**

**I love Nyssa, along with Leela, Ian and Liz Shaw she's the best Classic companion. She never tried to act impressive around the Doctor, because she was impressive without trying. Many times she could be up to speed with the Doctor when many others would fail miserably. And Sarah Sutton's departure is heartbreaking too. "We at the BBC have decided not to renew your contract." There's a video on youtube where Sarah says she probably would have stuck with DW for years and didn't want to leave in the first place, which is super sad because not only is her character amazing, she's also underrated which probably would have helped if she hadn't been cut. BRING NYSSA BACK FOR THE 50TH!  
**


	25. The Diary

**Wow! Five new followers in one day!  
**

**Extra long chapter today! xD And this is one of my favorites that I wrote, the reason which will soon become apparent.**

* * *

Chapter 25 – The Diary

_"…with the push of a single button," Lazarus continued. "I will change what it means to be human." Jack and the Doctor looked at each other in shock._

_"Did he just say he's gonna change what it means to be human?"_

_"Yup."_

* * *

After finding out the reveal of Lazarus' machine was a formal event taking place that night, the two headed back into the TARDIS to get changed and for the Doctor to send them a few hours ahead in time.

"How are we going to get in?" Jack asked.

"Psychic Paper." The Doctor held it out for him to see.

"Doctor Spock plus Guest." Jack read it aloud. "Really?" He raised his eyebrow, his mouth turning up in a cheeky smile.

"It's works!" The Doctor scowled at him and returned the Psychic Paper to his pocket.

"Better go get out your suit again." Jack said, heading towards the wardrobe room. The Doctor frowned. Last time he had worn that was on his date with Rose...

* * *

The Doctor was walking deeper into the TARDIS towards his room where his suit was stashed in his closet. Suddenly he felt an urgent tug to go into Rose's room, which was directly across the hallway from his. Without fighting it he opened the door and stepped in. He smiled at the disarrayed state. It was like she was never gone.

The Doctor used to tease her about how she kept her room, but then she would just shove him out and tell him that he shouldn't be in her room anyway, and then she'd flash him that flirty...no, cheeky smile and wink at him sexily...no, sensuously...what the hell?

He shook his head roughly and returned to his previous thoughts.

There was only one time Rose had let him stay in her room, and that was the time he held her in his arms all night long after she had witnessed her father's death for the final time. They lay together fully clothed on top of the duvet on her bed and no impure thoughts had ever crossed their minds. The emotional strain of the day had been too much for them to think about anything else.

As the Doctor looked at her bed he could see him and Rose as she sobbed softly into his chest while he held her as close as he possibly could, as if he could shield her from everything bad that had happened.

_"I'm sorry." He whispered. Rose turned her tear-streaked face up to his. Those bright brown eyes showed just as much pain and guilt that was in his own hearts._

_"I know you didn't mean it." She replied._

_"No, not just that." He paused. "I'm sorry...for everything." Both of them were silent, taking comfort in the other's embrace, until finally they fell asleep on Rose's bed, still clutching each other like final lifelines to the existent world._

He ran his hands over his face to get the memory out. Then in the corner of his eye he found what had drawn him in in the first place: A small book sat open on her desk on the wall to his right. Upon closer inspection he saw that was her diary. It was open to the page after her last entry, and the blank pages only reminded him of the current emptiness of her lying on that cold, cruel hospital bed. He quickly flipped back about twenty pages and came across an entry. He felt a little guilty about reading her diary but not enough to turn away.

Plus, she left it open on her desk for all to see so it was her own fault...or did she really leave it there? He didn't know what to think anymore after everything that had happened with the Bad Wolf on Kitariah 3. He picked the diary up and brought it closer for his eyes to see, holding it with gentle fingers, as if he was holding a piece of Rose herself.

_Entry 332_

_Dear Diary:  
_

_Why do people write 'Dear Diary' anyway? It's not like I'm writing to a friend named Diary, in fact, no one will even see this, except me of course. Oh hell I'm starting to sound like him now!_

_ Anyways, the Doctor kissed me today! I was so shocked, because he also tricked me but mainly because he kissed me! Looking back now I see that I shouldn't have bought the Sapphire Potion in the first place, but I couldn't help it. It was so intriguing. __And it's not like I've never wanted him to be more than a friend, right? But I still should have trusted by own instincts, maybe Time Lords and humans aren't compatible. Or because he's so old he only sees me as a child._

_ But if that's true, then why did he kiss me in the first place? Oh I can still feel the taste of his lips on mine. When he kissed me, I felt like I was looking into an exploding star, like the one he took me to see last month in the Tarigorn Galaxy. He held my arm as I leaned out as far as I could outside the TARDIS doors and into space. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before._

_ As well as I'm on the subject of things I've never experienced before, I'll honestly say I know exactly when I fell in love with him. I guess it's my diary entry of confession. _

_ It was that night after my father died (again! wth?!) and the Doctor held me in his embrace all night long because I couldn't stop crying. _

_ It was so traumatic, not just seeing dad die, but seeing the Doctor get eaten by a reaper right in front of me as well. I thought I had lost him and it was all my fault. It was the worst feeling in the world, because his death as well as the entire planet's death happened was because of what I did. If my dad hadn't made it right I would have destroyed the Earth and the last survivor of the Time Lords. We had argued too, before that, and I regretted everything I said to him. I felt so bad I couldn't even remember what he said to me as I sat there alone in that gloomy church. I still can't.  
_

_ The beat of his two hearts against my chest and the feel of his leather jacket brushing on my skin that night I laid against him comforted me like nothing else had. He let me fall asleep there too, and I know he doesn't sleep very much so it was extra sweet._

_ But, it's like, after we fought, it was as if our relationship (if I could even call it that) grew in dimension, in maturity. We trusted each other more, and I realised just how much he means to me._

_ Yes, that's right Diary. I've grown to love everything about him. From his short-cropped hair, to his big ears and leather jacket all the way down to his boots. Just hearing his Northern accent in my head makes my hearts beat faster. Wait, I mean heart. (insert sigh here) Just another reason I shouldn't be feeling this way. But I do._

_ I'm in love with my Doctor. And I think he might be in love with me too._

_ I think I'll go to the library and read that new book The Hunger Games I got on Melodroria, as to not make a bigger fool of myself in front of the Doctor after that Love Potion embarrassment._

_ P.S. In case I forget, the Doctor's anniversary gift is in the secret compartment in the top drawer of my desk. I'll tell you how he likes it when I give it to him. I never realised how hard it was to buy __something for a nine hundred year-old Time Lord!_

_ ~Rose Tyler _

The Doctor smiled, rereading the part _"I'm in love with my Doctor. And I think he might be in love with me too." _She wrote that before he asked her out on their first 'date' to Paris.

He was tempted to find out what she had gotten him for their one-year anniversary, since she seemed to forget about it when it came and left during that time she started slipping away.

But he decided not to. The look on her face if she ever got the chance to give it to him would be better than knowing now.

He flipped the diary to the last entry she wrote, hoping it would shed some light on what exactly she had been hiding from him before she slipped away entirely.

_Entry 350_

_Dear Diary:  
_

_ I'm so scared. The Doctor took me to a Journey concert today, and I was so close to Steve Perry I could just reach out and touch him. It was amazing, to say the least._

_ But it happened again. Like my whole body was paralyzed and I couldn't move, or even think. And then it hurt. It was an indescribable feeling. After a lot of time to think about it, the closest I can come up with is that it feels like all my cells are coming out of alignment, or something like that. The Doctor would know how to say it better but I don't dare tell him. My vision turn fuzzy and I can't move my head. My skin burns like fire and I can't comprehend anything. It was beyond unsettling, and this was the worst out of all the times it's happened. It gets worse every time it happens.  
_

_ But it only happened for a minute, and I'm glad this time the Doctor didn't notice. I know he's suspicious, very suspicious in fact. He even tried to scan me when we were at mum's last, but I think I've warded him off, at least for a little while._

_ He first noticed something was up when I started not hearing him when he was talking to me. I think that's when it started, I lost my hearing first. Paris I believe. No, before that. After seeing Hitler. Yeah that sounds right._

_ But I never want him to find out! It's imperative that he doesn't know. I'm just so afraid that something is really wrong with me and our relationship will change. We've come so far, and I don't want to lose it now more than anything. I just want this problem to go away and we can go back to what we were before all this started happening._

* * *

She hadn't even bothered to sign her name. That was the last entry she had made before her 'illness' if you will, became a serious problem.

The Doctor suddenly felt woozy. He placed a hand on his head and groaned. Suddenly he lost his balance and collapsed to the floor. He struggled on his knees but soon realised it was useless. His body made a loud 'thud' as he fell the rest of the way. It was a few more seconds until his vision grew blurry and he slipped into darkness.

_ "You didn't have to do that." The Doctor mumbled grumpily and rubbed his head as he saw the Bad Wolf woman standing in front of him in his mind. "You could have just asked before you invaded my head."  
_

_ "Speed is necessary." The Doctor looked around and noticed his strange surroundings._

_ "This looks like France." He said, looking out the window and into the daylight. "How are you doing this? These aren't the memories in my head."_

_"I am the Bad Wolf." She replied, a slight and knowing grin on her face. The Doctor heard a noise behind him and turned around. He gasped, recognizing his future self with someone who was obviously from the local area, and very wealthy._

_ "Who is that?" He asked the Bad Wolf. _

_ "Reinette Poisson. Or Madame de Pompadour."_

_ "A modern-day swinger if I remember correctly. Mistress to the King." The Doctor replied. "What is he doing with her of all people?" He jerked his head back in surprise at the passionate kiss Reinette threw on his future self. He frowned in disgust. Who knew how many diseases she had?  
_

_ "He saved her life when she was a young girl, but to him it was mere minutes since he saw her younger self."_

_ "But where's Rose in all of this?" He knew from experience how jealous Rose got. The Bad Wolf Woman motioned for him to follow her. _

_"Do not worry, no one can see us, it's merely a projection of what would have happened had you regenerated." She leaned down in front of the fireplace and the Doctor knelt beside her. Looking through the fireplace, he saw this version's Rose watching her Doctor and Reinette snogging like there was no tomorrow. His hearts broke at the tears in her eyes._

_ "Why's he doing this to her?" He cried angrily. "I would never do anything to hurt her like that."_

_ "You both just met Sarah Jane, and Mickey decided to join you on your travels. It's put a serious strain on your relationship." The Doctor made a mental note not take Rose to meet Sarah Jane or let Mickey step foot in the TARDIS again, not if this was what it would become._

_ The Bad Wolf walked through the wall and onto the other side of the fireplace. The Doctor followed and found himself on a space ship obviously in the far future. He also had a better view of Rose. She knelt there in front of the fireplace for a few seconds, before standing up and wiping the tears from her eyes and cheeks as Mickey the Idiot ran into the room, obviously not noticing her distress. Typical._

_ "Has he come back yet?" Mickey asked her._

_ "No, haven't seen him yet." Her voice displayed only calm. She was a good actress when she needed to be. The Doctor came up and stood in front of her, wanting to speak to her, to apologize for his future self's actions. He wanted to hold her tight and never let her go. But the Bad Wolf raised her hand and the scene changed slightly. _

_ The new Doctor, Rose, and Mickey were on the space ship, watching through a screen to the past as clockwork men stormed the palace in France._

_ "But if you go," Rose said to the Doctor as he jumped on a horse (wait, a horse?) "You'll be stuck there...forever."_

_ "I know." he replied. "But I promised her." Then, like a cavalier, he rode the horse through the screen. It shattered into a million pieces, leaving only a blank wall behind him._

_ The present Doctor watched as Rose stared at the blank wall and Mickey asked a couple stupid questions. Tears glistened on her cheeks. Finally she choked back a sob and Mickey came up behind, wrapping her in a hug._

_ "He left me." She muttered, not bothering to return his hug. The Doctor was beyond livid._

_ "Why are you showing me this?" He shouted at the Bad Wolf. "I would never do this to her, not without giving her some way to get home, even then..."_

_ "To make sure you still know how much Rose did for you and your relationship when she saved you from regeneration." The Doctor's expression softened._

_ "I'll never forget. And I'll never let this happen." He turned as Rose came up to the blank wall, placing her hand on the gray, uninviting barrier._

_ "Is this when we lose each other, for good?" The Doctor said, remembering a scene like this that the Bad Wolf had projected in Rose's head.  
_

_ "Oh no, he eventually comes back, after Rose waits five and a half hours for him. She would have waited forever."_

_ "As long as it takes." The Doctor whispered as Bad Wolf brought up one last scene with a flick of her finger. They were now inside the TARDIS, and the future Doctor was dejectedly moving the TARDIS into the vortex. Rose and Mickey stood nearby. Her eyes were filled with only compassion and a slight tinge of sadness that only the present Doctor could see.  
_

_ "He was so excited to take Reinette to the stars, he barely did more than say 'hello' and a quick hug to Rose when he made it back. But when he returned to France, he was too late and she had already died."_

_ "He wouldn't have made Rose endure having Reinette on board, after what she saw them do?" The Bad Wolf nodded, and the Doctor clenched his fists. He hadn't wanted to hurt another one of his regenerations this badly since he was in his Third life._

_ "You alright?" Rose asked her Doctor._

_ "I'm always alright." He replied, not even letting a smile show on his face._

_ "She's asking about him?" The present Doctor asked incredulously. "He lost nothing. She nearly lost everything." As Rose departed to her room the present Doctor followed. As she shut her door, he heard soft sobbing noises from the other side, nearly too faint for even him to hear, as if she had stuffed a pillow over her sobs so not a soul would know.  
_

_ "My Rose. She's hurting." He placed a hand on her door. "And she doesn't want him to know. She's only thinking of his pain. She's so strong." _And so loyal._ He thought. He wouldn't have blamed her if she would want to go home after this. But he knew she wouldn't, she loved the Doctor too much not to forgive him, even without his apology that he knew was not forthcoming._ Self-absorbed bastard._ H_e_ turned to the Bad Wolf, tears threatening to fall._

_ "I've seen enough."_

_ "That was not the only reason I let you see this."_

_ "Then why?" He didn't want to beg her to let him go, but he didn't think he could take much more of this. Of what was, what wasn't, and what could have happened had he regenerated on the Game Station.  
_

_ "To give you a message." Everything around them started to fade, and the Doctor knew he was waking up. _"_I am sorry but, in order to save her, you will have to make a sacrifice, so great a sacrifice."_

* * *

"Doctor?" Jack shook his friend, a worried look on his face. "Doctor, wake up!" The Doctor slowly opened his eyes, noticing he was still on the floor of Rose's bedroom. "What happened?" Jack asked him. The Doctor blinked twice and sat up.

"It was the Bad Wolf. She had a message."

* * *

**I can never remember who started the hostility between the Second and Third Doctors...so I'm guessing it's the Third, he was always a bit more pompous xD**

**_Next time: The Doctor and Jack decide to crash Lazarus' party, but there will also be two special guests, one waiting for him, and the other unawares._  
**

**I was a bit mean about Reinette but I don't care. HE KNEW BETTER. I thought the Doctor upheld this moral code and engaging with a concubine was NOT on his list!(and kissograms too*COUGHCOUGH*) I guess I'm so mad for Rose too, all she ever did was stay loyal to him, even after he did that to her. If you want to see Nine give Ten 'what for', read _Daydream or Nightmare? _by _Logan the Awesome_. Leave a review too(and say I sent you ;D), she's a fantastic person and friend! :D  
**


	26. The Special Guest

**You might think that it will follow The Lazarus Experiment completely, but you would be mostly wrong in assuming that. Nine and Jack will definitely change the dynamic and ending of the events to come, if not in this chapter than in the next ones.  
**

* * *

Chapter 26 – The Special Guest

_"Doctor, wake up!" Jack shook his friend, a worried look on his face. The Doctor slowly opened his eyes._

_"What happened?" Jack asked him. The Doctor blinked twice and sat up._

_"It was the Bad Wolf. She had a message."_

* * *

No matter how much Jack inquired about what the Bad Wolf's message was, the Doctor only replied that it was a warning that they shouldn't dawdle if Rose was to survive. The Doctor didn't want to tell him about her real message until he was sure he understood it himself.

_"I am sorry but, in order to save her, you will have to make a sacrifice, so great a sacrifice."_

* * *

"How do I look?" Jack asked the Doctor, straightening his bow tie.

"Adequate." He replied, putting on his own suit jacket.

"Really?" Jack said, his face falling. "I feel so rejected." He hid a sarcastic smile but the Doctor ignored it.

"Let's get one thing straight, right now." The Doctor pointed at him. "You. Are not. My date. Merely my plus one." Jack chuckled.

"Don't worry." He said, opening the TARDIS doors. "I know who your real 'plus one' is."

* * *

"Food?" Jack pointed with his thumb to a tray passing them by.

"No thanks." The Doctor said, trying to loosen his tie without taking it off.

"Suit yourself." Jack replied, stuffing snacks into his mouth.

The Doctor took in their surroundings. The place was very posh, with rich people all around them. He automatically knew by her history that Rose would be uncomfortable here. If she ever got better, he planned to drill into her head that her humble beginnings had nothing to do with who she was now. In fact, she was worth more than all these fancy-dressed apes put together.

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and was shocked by who it was.

It was the Bad Wolf Woman, not as Rose, but in her original form; the one that had appeared in his and Rose's minds. But now she looked anything but an all-powerful goddess. Instead, she looked and was dressed like a normal human being, her only giveaway was a slight gold shimmering on the edges of her brown eyes, barely noticeable to those who took hardly any interest in her. However it was hard not to take interest in her.

The Doctor's eyes widened at her appearance. Her sleeveless dress sparkled with crystals that shimmered with her every movement. A slit on the side exposed nearly half her thigh, and her golden heels seemed to defy all laws of support. The golden tendrils of her hair framed her face like an angel's halo, and she caught every eye in the room.

The Doctor was speechless for a moment, until the Bad Wolf motioned towards a dark-skinned woman standing a few feet away from them. The woman had her back towards them, clothed in a lovely purple dress.

"You see that woman over there?" Her voice was ethereal, silky and golden as she whispered in his ear. He merely nodded. "Martha Jones." She spoke in barely a whisper. "After you are separated from Rose in the battle of Canary Wharf, you find Martha and she becomes your next companion." The Doctor finally found his voice.

"In the other time line, the other Doctor you mean."

"Yes."

"Mm." He made a noncommittal sound, his mouth twitching in displeasure at the thought of a companion after Rose. Martha was pretty enough, but he could already tell his standards were set too high for her.

"Doctor," The Bad Wolf implored, as if she could hear his thoughts (which she probably could). "Martha is smart, curious and asks a lot of good questions. Might be handy using her on this mission."

"Wait, how did you get here?" He asked, turning to face her. "I didn't think you had enough power to give yourself a solid form." The Bad Wolf merely winked at him and waltzed away. The Doctor watched her go.

"Who was that?" Jack asked in a tone of awe, eying her back end hungrily.

"You don't want to mess with that one." The Doctor replied with a knowing smile. Just like Jack to hit on an almost all-powerful entity. He turned him away from the Bad Wolf and instead pulled him over to where Martha Jones was who was talking with what looked like to be her family.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Spock." The Doctor introduced himself, holding out a hand to her. Jack suppressed a snort of laughter and the Doctor glared at him.

"Oh, I'm a doctor too," Martha replied. "Well, almost, need to pass my exams but I'm almost there."

"Oh I'm sure you'll pass." The Doctor expected Martha to thank him, but instead she raised a suspicious eyebrow. The Bad Wolf was right, she was curious. Turning her off the subject, Jack grabbed her hand and held to his lips, lingering for a bit too long.

"And a _very_ beautiful doctor at that." Martha removed her hand from his lips, looking a bit uncomfortable. The Doctor jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow as Martha turned away. Jack scrunched up his face and scowled at him.

"We need to find out about Lazarus and his machine." The Doctor whispered loudly. The two followed Martha, seeing she was walking away from them. "Professor Lazarus, do you know him?" She turned around and frowned at them. Were they deliberately following her?

"Not personally, no, but here, my sister Tish does." As if to defend herself, she half threw her sister in front of Jack and the Doctor. Tish looked at Martha strangely, before answering the Doctor's question.

"Professor Lazarus, yes. I'm part of his executive staff."

"She's in the PR department," Martha spoke up from behind her sister.

"I'm head of the PR department, actually," she said indignantly, turning her head around to look at her. "I put this whole thing together."

"So," Jack said, turning them back to the matter at hand. "Do you know what Professor Lazarus is going to be doing tonight?" The Doctor turned and saw a large machine in the middle of the room.

"That looks like a sonic micro-field manipulator." He said.

"Look, why don't you ask him yourself, obviously you know him or at least have heard of his work, or you wouldn't have been invited, if you actually were." Tish said abruptly. "Excuse me, I've got to get back to work now."

Jack and the Doctor turned around as the lights faded and everyone's voices quieted. A spot light fell on an old man, standing by a machine, tapping on a glass. Jack and the Doctor recognized him from the television set earlier that morning.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Richard Lazarus," he said. "And tonight I'm going to perform a miracle. It is, I believe, the most important advance since Rutherford split the atom. The biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight you will watch and wonder. But tomorrow, you'll wake to a world which will be changed forever."

Jack shuffled nervously and the Doctor frowned as Lazarus stepped into his machine, closing the door behind him. A couple of technicians pressed buttons and prepared the machine. As soon as it was on, it emitted a high-pitched noise and all the guests were bathed in a blue glow as the machine grew stronger and stronger, so strong that many shielded their eyes from the light.

And then, an alarm went off. The looked over at the technicians to see them working on the machine, worry clear on their faces.

"That doesn't sound good." Jack shouted.

"It's overloading." The Doctor said. When he saw the controls spark and explode he ran and leapt over the desk, his boots thumping loudly as he hit the floor. He pulled the sonic from his pocket and aimed it at the controls.

"Somebody stop him!" One of the investors shouted. "Get him away from the controls!"

"He knows what he's doing," Jack shouted back at her. "If it explodes, we all die!" The Doctor ignored the woman as he leapt back over the desk and pulled out the main cable.

The spinning machine slowed down and came to a stop. The noises ceased and the light dissipated. Jack ran to the door.

"Open it!" he cried, running up behind Jack.

Jack pulled the door open and smoke piled out. Everyone stood in awe as a young man stumbled out, looking very different, but oh so familiar. He clutched the sides of the machine, panting heavily. The Doctor felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he gently touched his face.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he yelled. "I am Richard Lazarus. I am 76 years old and I am reborn!" He shouted in victory.

"He did it. He actually did it!" the same old woman said triumphantly, and the rest of the crowd broke into cheers. The only two not happy were Jack and the Doctor, who merely stood there in shock.

* * *

"It's not possible." Jack said, staring as Lazarus posed for pictures. "It's just not."

"It's not supposed to be, but he did it." The Doctor said.

"But what did he do?" The Doctor looked back at Lazarus and shook his head.

"He changed what it meant to be human." Jack stood quietly for a moment, still looking at Lazarus warily.

"Obviously something goes wrong if this point in time is in flux. So what do we do now?"

"We wait." As soon as the Doctor replied, Lazarus jerked and gasped in pain. The two of them suddenly sped forward as he began consuming food furiously.

"I'm famished!" he told Lady Thaw, whining like a child.

"Energy deficit," the Doctor stated behind him. Lazarus spun round and looked at him in surprise. "I'd expect it to happen with this kind of process."

"You speak as if you see this every day Mr…"

"Spock." he told them. "_Doctor_ Spock. And I have experience in this kind of transformation."

"That's not possible," Lazarus said.

"Using hypersonic sound waves to create a state of resonance," he said, trying not to sound annoyed. "Not that hard to figure out then?" Jack nodded behind him.

"You understand the theory."

"Enough to know that you couldn't possibly have allowed for all the variables," he responded seriously.

"No experiment is without risk," Lazarus said flippantly.

"That thing nearly exploded," Jack said incredulously. "We all saw it!" He stepped forward. "You, and all these people here are in danger." He quivered in anger but the Doctor gripped his shoulder in an attempt to get him to calm down.

"You're not qualified to comment," Lady Thaw spoke up.

"If the Doctor hadn't stopped it, we all would have died," Jack turned to her.

"Then thank you, Doctor Spock," Lazarus said calmly, ignoring Jack. "But that's a simple engineering issue. What happened inside the capsule was exactly what was meant to happen. No more, no less."

"But you have no way of knowing that until you run proper tests, correct?" Jack and the Doctor turned around to see Martha standing behind them. She had that same look of curiosity and wariness on her face.

"Look at me girl!" Lazarus laughed. "You can see what happened. I'm all the proof you need."

"This device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially." Lady Thaw spoke proudly.

"Commercially?" Jack cried. "You're not serious! That'll cause unspeakable damage!"

"No." Lazarus said. "It won't. What it _will_ bring is change. A chance for humanity to evolve, to improve."

"This isn't about improving. It's about you and your customers living a little longer." The Doctor felt his blood rising as he spat his words.

"Not a little longer, Doctor." Lazarus replied softly. "A lot longer. Perhaps indefinitely." The Doctor had just formulated a reply when Lady Thaw interrupted him.

"Richard, we have things to discuss, upstairs." She walked away and Lazarus followed her, waving back at them.

"Goodbye, Doctor." He turned back with a grin on his face. "In a few years, you'll look back and laugh at how wrong you were." He held out his hand for Martha. When she placed her hand in his, he bought it to his mouth and kissed it. Martha got a slight look of disgust on her face. Then finally, he left.

"He doesn't know what he's doing," Jack spoke quietly so Martha couldn't hear. "He's no idea of the damage he might have done to his body."

"We need to do our own tests." The Doctor replied. "This building must be full of laboratories."

"Good thing I collected a DNA sample then isn't it?" Jack said, holding up a piece of Lazarus' hair that he had obtained. The Doctor grinned at him and the two of them took off.

Martha looked at them strangely as they left, before wiping the back of her hand on her dress in revulsion and returning to her family.

* * *

"Look at it." The Doctor pointed to the screen where Lazarus' DNA was displayed.

"I can't see anything different." Jack said, leaning over him.

"Right there!" The DNA strand seemed to change right before their eyes. Jack started in shock.

"Did that just change?" He slammed his fist down. "We were right!"

"Yes, we were. Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns," The Doctor explained. "He hacked into his own genes and made them rejuvenate." His voice tinged with anger at the man's stupidity.

"They're still mutating. What did he do wrong?"

"He missed something. Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilize. Something that's trying to change him…"

"Into what?" Jack asked warily.

"I don't know." he replied, rubbing the short hair on his head in thought. "But we need to find out. And quickly, the guests' lives are in danger as we speak. We have to stop him before we can get the energy converter for Rose."

"Hold on, that woman went upstairs with him." Jack said suddenly.

"Come on!" he cried. They sprinted out of the room, knowing that everyone's lives were now in grave danger.

* * *

**You might be wondering why Martha is even at the party, because Tish got her high-powered job because the Master promoted her. Well all I have to say is that time is always in flux, who knows, they could still go to the end of the universe and find Yana there ;)  
**

_**Next: With time in constant flux, anything could happen. The Doctor and Jack might need some help with this one...**_

**A reminder, the Bad Wolf woman is played by Amanda Righetti, I have a manip I made on my DA profile, just google _RoseBadWolfTyler DeviantArt_ (it's the first link to come up) and it's the first manip featured on my gallery. The next two after that are SLY promos, so check those out too ^^  
**


	27. A Little Unexpected Help

**I'm not too happy with how this chapter came out, but my head hurts from trying to fix it that I'm gonna let you read it anyway. Good thing I really like how the next chapter turns out :D**

** Guest: Yeah I think Nine would have chosen Spock too, not only does it sound like Nine, but it reminds him of Rose(cuz she picked it out :D)  
**

* * *

Chapter 27 – A Little Unexpected Help

_Something in his DNA has been activated and won't let him stabilize. Something that's trying to change him…"_

_"Into what?" Jack asked warily._

_"I don't know." he replied, rubbing the short hair on his head in thought. "But we need to find out. And quickly, the guests' lives are in danger as we speak. We have to stop him before we can get the energy converter for Rose."_

_"Hold on, that woman went upstairs with him." Jack said suddenly._

_"Come on!" he cried. They sprinted out of the room, knowing that everyone's lives were now in grave danger._

* * *

After a few minutes of searching they came across a large empty room. A huge mahogany desk sat at the end.

"This looks like his office." The Doctor said.

"So where is he?" Jack asked.

"I don't know." He replied. "Maybe he left already."

"Doctor." Jack suddenly blanched. The Doctor ran behind the desk and Jack looked on in horror.

"Is that Lady Thaw?" Jack asked, a sick look on his face.

"Used to be," the Doctor said, bending down for a closer look. "Now it's just a shell. Had all the life energy drained out." He ran his sonic over the body, gathering evidence. He gazed at it strangely as he brought it to his face.

"Lazarus!" Jack spat. The Doctor nodded. "So he's changed already."

"Not necessarily," He replied, returning the sonic to his pocket. "The DNA is fluctuating. The process demands energy, this might not have been enough."

"He's going to do it again?!" Jack said, his voice rising. This whole thing was wrong. With a grave look the Doctor nodded again.

* * *

They both ran for the elevators and headed back down to the main hall, but they didn't know they were already too late.

"I can't see him," Jack said after a few minutes of searching.

"He can't have gone far. Keep looking." The Doctor told him. Jack motioned to him as Martha came up.

"Are you looking for Lazarus?"

"Yes, have you seen him?"

"He took my sister Tish upstairs. Why, is something wrong?"

"Upstairs?" The Doctor and Jack had looks of horror on their faces.

"Is my sister in danger?" She never got an answer as the two men sped for the elevator. After looking back at her family and debating, Martha chased after them.

"Martha, where are you going?" Her mum shouted at her. Martha ignored her.

"No, you can't come!" The Doctor tried to block her way out of the elevator but she slipped under his arm.

"This is my sister we're talking about. If she's in danger I need to help." She snapped back.

"Feisty one." Jack replied, a small smile on his face as the doors to the elevator slid shut.

"I will be if something happens to Tish."

* * *

The three of them came into Lazarus' office but it was empty.

"Where are they?" Martha said, slight worry clear in her voice.

"Fluctuating DNA will give off an energy signature." The Doctor said, pulling the sonic-screwdriver from his pocket. "I might be able to pick it up."

"What are you doing?" Martha asked, completely confused. He held the sonic out in front of him and slowly turned it in a circle. As he turned the beeping grew louder.

"Got him!" he cried.

"Where?" Jack asked. The Doctor was pointing the sonic at the ceiling. "But isn't this the top floor?" He looked up. "The roof!"

"The roof!" The Doctor repeated excitedly.

* * *

"And is it like you expected?" Tish asked Lazarus.

"I find that nothing's ever exactly like you expect," Lazarus replied. "There's always something to surprise you. 'Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act falls the shadow'."

"T.S. Eliot I believe." The Doctor, Jack and Martha stepped out in front of them.

"Correct." Lazarus said to the Doctor. "I'm impressed."

"A good man." The Doctor replied offhandedly. "A bit socially awkward but a good writer." Everyone except Jack looked at him strangely.

"Martha, what are you doing here?" Tish said in annoyance after giving the Doctor a weird look.

"Tish, I don't know what's going on, but something's not right." Martha said.

"His DNA is mutating." Jack informed them.

"I wouldn't have thought you had time for poetry, Lazarus, what with you being busy breaking the laws of nature and all." the Doctor said, directing their attention off of Jack. The less the Jones' sisters knew, the less likely they were to get killed.

"You're right, Doctor Spock." Lazarus smiled. "One lifetime's been too short for me to do everything I'd like. How much more would I get done in two or three or four?"

"It doesn't work like that." The Doctor replied, his northern accent more defined. "Some people live more in 20 years than others do in 80." He thought fondly of Rose and everything she had done in one and a half short years. "It's not time that matters, it's the person." His voice softened, and Jack turned his mouth in emotion.

"But if it's the right person, what a gift that would be."

"Or a curse," Jack said. "Look at what you've done to yourself. You killed someone today!" Both Martha and Tish looked between Jack and Lazarus in shock, wondering if it was true. He raised his hands as a motion of innocence.

"I certainly have no idea what you're talking about." His voice was laced with smooth lies.

"Tish, get away from him." Tish wanted to object, but Jack's words echoed in her head. Did he really kill somebody? Without a word she came and stood by Martha's side. As soon as she was away Lazarus jerked and fell to the ground, strange noises coming from his mouth. The four of them watched in shock as Lazarus mutated in front of them, until he was a monster. It towered over them.

"Run!" The Doctor shouted at them. The four of them ran inside and the Doctor locked the door behind them. Martha and Tish ran for the elevator.

"What was that thing?!" Martha yelled once the men stepped beside them in front of the elevators.

"Lazarus." Jack replied. "He's mutating into a monster!"

"Are you okay?" Martha asked Tish.

"I was going to snog him!" She said, a sick look on her face. Suddenly there was a loud crash. The lights flickered and an alarm sounded.

"What's happening?" Martha asked.

"An intrusion," Tish said, looking dizzy. "It triggers a security lock down. Kills most of the power. Stops the lifts, seals the exits." The Lazarus creature continued to attempt to break down the door.

"He's gonna kill us if we stay here." The Doctor said. "The stairs, come on!"

* * *

As the four of them sped down the stairs something crashed loudly.

"He's inside!" Martha yelled, stopping and looking back up the stairwell.

"Martha, come on!" Jack urged her on who was behind her. They ran into the main reception room and the guests looked at them in confusion and worry.

"Tish, is there another way out of here?" Jack asked her.

"There's an exit in the corner, but it'll be locked now." The Doctor turned his screwdriver to setting 54 and ran for the doors. "Martha, Tish, come with me!"

"Listen up!" Jack shouted, stepping on a pedestal above the crowd. "You people are in danger! You need to get out of here right now!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" A woman scoffed at him. "The biggest danger here is choking on an olive!" Suddenly there was another crash and everyone turned around to see the Lazarus creature on top of the stairs. Jack jumped off and collapsed to the floor just before the creature lunged for him. The crowd began screaming and rushed the doorway where the Doctor, Martha and Tish were. The Doctor got the doors open and people rushed out behind him.

"Get out of here." The Doctor urged Martha and Tish, pushing them outside. They stopped where they were and looked back in.

Jack appeared at his side, and together they ran back in.

"Mum and Leo." Tish implored. With a nod Martha followed Jack and the Doctor.

"Lazarus! Leave them alone!" the Doctor shouted as the creature towered over who he remembered as Martha's mother and brother. Martha ran back in to their side and pulled them out as the Doctor continued to shout at the monster. "What's the point if you can't control it?" He taunted. "The mutation's too strong. Killing those people wont help you. You're trying to stop your death but you're only making yourself look like a fool, a failure!" The Doctor and Jack ran away as Lazarus began to chase them and away from the people.

"What are you doing?" Martha yelled, seeing the creature chase after the Doctor and Jack. She had experienced so much in just a few hours, but there was a yearning in her heart that she couldn't explain. As if she was meant to help them. But first she had to help her family.

* * *

"Run!" The Doctor yelled as the two of them sped down the hallway.

"When you said Time is in flux, " Jack gasped. "I hope that doesn't mean our deaths too."

"Yeah, well neither of us can die." The Doctor replied as Jack opened a door.

"It'd be inconvenient for me and you'd regenerate. Not a good thing." The two of them came inside the boiler room, shrouded in darkness.

"What are we doing?" Jack whispered as they hid in the shadows.

"Distracting him away from the guests." He replied.

"You mean you don't have a plan?" Jack threw him a look of shock.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!"

"It's no good, Spock." The creature growled menacingly, his voice echoing all around them. "You can't stop me." The Doctor motioned for them to keep quiet. Jack pointed at a moving shadow and the two moved father down.

"You're standing in the way of progress." The creature continued.

"You drained those people of their life!" The Doctor called out, unable to keep quiet any more. "You're a monster and a murderer!"

"It is a necessary sacrifice."

"It's not your decision to make." he growled lowly. "I will protect these people!" Suddenly the lights came on. Martha or Tish must have gotten a security guard to turn everything back on. Hopefully they were able to get the people out too. The Bad Wolf was right, Martha was handy. His thoughts were interrupted as he saw Lazarus hanging right above them.

"Peek-a-boo," he growled. Jack stood in horror as Lazarus' mutant head grew closer to them. The Doctor pulled on his arm and the two of them ran out of the room and back into another corridor.

* * *

Martha was at an impasse. She felt a strong tugging on her heart to go and help the Doctor and Jack. But she knew it was wrong. She could be killed, not knowing about anything that was going on.

But this strange Doctor, when she looked she caught a glimpse of someone in his eyes, a tall man with big hair. She felt like she knew him, or rather, was supposed to know him. Obviously this Doctor Spock and Jack Harkness were trying to save them all

Without another word she sped back up the stairs.

"Martha!" Her mother cried in horror.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Jack asked as the Doctor leapt onto one of the tables in the lab and pulled a light off the wall.

"Turn on the gas taps." He ordered him. Jack realized what he was doing and did as he was told. "Get out of the room!" The Doctor said after he was done.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Jack replied. "You better be right behind me!"

* * *

Lazarus came after the Doctor after he taunted him. He switched on the lights and ran out the doors that Jack held open.

"Run!" He yelled at Jack for the third time that night. They ran as fast as they could down the passageway, but they were thrown to the floor as an almighty explosion rang out behind them.

"You alright?" Jack asked the Doctor as the dust cleared.

"Yeah, you?" They got back up and Jack wiped debris off his shoulder.

"Yup." And they continued running.

* * *

As the Doctor and Jack ran around a corner they ran smack dab into Martha.

"What are you doing here?" The Doctor cried, looking behind them.

"I heard the explosion. I wanted to help. Did you kill him?" she added. They heard a growl and saw Lazarus chasing them.

"Does that answer your question?" Jack said as the three of them continued to run.

* * *

******Writing Jack is so much fun! :D**

_**Coming up: Lazarus corners our two heroes and Martha with the machine. What could possibly happen?**_

**Oh, another couple DW references in the Eragon Series, this time in the last book Inheritance, pg. 389: "I've seen...men who age backwards and...rooms that are bigger on the inside." and on pg. 421 (I'm paraphrasing) "Breathing in the vapors would increase a chance of catching a glimpse of the future." And if that's not from Fires of Pompeii then I'll eat my sonic screwdriver!  
**


	28. Coming to Dust

**I don't like Martha at all until Series 4, but it's only because of her stupid crush on the Doctor who was in so much pain after what happened to Rose. But if she didn't have that why couldn't she be awesome? :D**

**Anyone else miss Rose as much as I do? ...Oh yeah in the story too XP  
**

* * *

Chapter 28 – Coming to Dust

_As the Doctor and Jack ran around a corner they ran smack-dab into Martha._

_"What are you doing here?" Jack cried, looking behind them._

_"I heard the explosion. I wanted to help. Did you kill him?" she added. They heard a growl and saw Lazarus chasing them._

_"Does that answer your question?" Jack said as the three of them continued to run._

* * *

_"Doctor? Doctor?" No matter how hard Rose tried, all she could see was darkness, and feel unbearable cold. She shivered and pulled her legs closer to herself. First her hearing, now her sight, and now everything else was fading. "Doctor?" She called again to the only one who could save her now. She went to shout a fourth time but was dismayed to find her speech no longer worked. With a strangled cry she buried her head in her lap and sobbed._

* * *

"We're back in the main reception hall." Jack gasped and panted heavily, resting his hands on his knees. "I did not get enough of this in Paris." He added.

"What do we do now?" Martha cried.

"_We_ nothing." The Doctor replied, turning to face her. "You have no idea what's happening, and you're in danger. You need to get out of here."

"Too late." Jack replied as he spotted Lazarus coming around the corner. In a last-second move, the Doctor ran to the machine and opened the door. Martha jumped inside but Jack stayed put.

"He'll drain your blood, you might die permanently!" The Doctor shouted at him. Jack shook his head.

"I won't let him sting me. But I'll give you a few minutes." The Doctor nodded and locked the door after he climbed in. He suddenly felt very awkward as his body was pushed up against Martha's, a woman he barely knew.

"So, you do this sort of thing every day?" She asked. The Doctor nodded. "Are we hiding?" She whispered.

"No," he replied. "He knows we're here. But this is his masterpiece. He won't destroy it, not even to get at us."

"But your friend, he's out there!" She gasped in horror as a loud crash rang out and Jack cried loudly in pain.

"He'll be okay. Trust me."

"But we're trapped!" Her voice was a bit muffled, being pushed up against him. She shut her eyes in an attempt to not look at the rippling muscles under his suit jacket.

"I've been stuck in tighter spaces before."

"Do you have a plan?" She cried, as if she expected him to have one.

"The plan was to get inside here."

"Then what?"

"Well… then I'd come up with another plan."

"In your own time, then," she said in a snippy tone that reminded him of Rose.

"Hey, it's not like I've ever let you down before right?" He replied, forgetting he wasn't actually with Rose.

"I just met you!" She cried. "I shouldn't even be here! What was I thinking?" The Doctor shook his head in frustration. He was trying to think, but Martha was distracting him. Well, when all else fails, use the sonic.

"Excuse me, but this is going to be a bit uncomfortable." He reached into his pocket and tried _not_ to imagine that it was Rose and not Martha whose body was pressed up against his. Not Rose's chest that loomed in front of his face. Not her cherry perfume scent that...

"Hey!" Martha shouted, bringing him back to the real world. "What are you doing?

"Improvising. _It's what Rose and I do_." He muttered the last bit under his breath. He cursed to himself for the position Martha had gotten them in as he wiggled down towards the bottom of the machine. The Doctor popped open a panel beneath their feet. Well, at least Jack hadn't come in as well. He would be having a field day.

"I still don't understand where that thing came from." She said, trying not to concentrate on the Doctor's hands brushing up against her legs. Blimey she didn't even know his first name! _Spock_ indeed! "Is it an alien? You know, with all those alien sightings in the past few years, it's getting more and more believable."

"No, it's human in origin," the Doctor replied fiddling with something in the panel.

"Human?" Martha replied. "How can it be human?"

"I shouldn't even be telling you." He bit back. "You have no idea what's going on or anything about what I do."

"I have a right!" She cried. "You and your friend are the ones who got me into this mess!"

"You got yourself stuck in here. I didn't invite you." Martha scowled and turned her head. The Doctor continued to work on the panel.

"Look, I'm sorry." He said. "I'm trying to find something that could save my friend's life, and it's a bit stressful having to fix this mess as well." Martha's face softened. "What it looks like is that dormant genes in Lazarus' DNA activated, and they're becoming dominant."

"So it's a throw back?" The Doctor nodded.

"Locked away in his genes, forgotten about until Lazarus unlocked it by mistake."

"It's like Pandora's Box," Martha said. The Doctor made a grunt of agreement. Suddenly the machine began to whirr and a blue light lit up around them.

"Did you do that Doctor Spock?"

"No." The Doctor cried back. "And just call me Doctor."

"What's happening?" Martha's voice grew in distress.

"He's switched the machine on."

"That's not good, is it?"

"Well, I was hoping it was going to take him a little bit longer to work out." His fingers moved faster and the machine began to vibrate.

"I don't want to hurry you, but-"

"Nearly done!"

"But what are you doing?" Martha asked.

"Trying to set the capsule to reflect energy rather than receive it."

"Will that kill him?"

"When he transforms, he's three times his size - cellular triplication - so he's spreading himself thin."

"We're going to end up like him?" Martha cried.

"Not if I have anything to say about it, last thing I want is to revert back into my sixth life!" He pulled out a plug, ignoring Martha's strange look. _Just one more! _Suddenly the energy field around them shifted. A blast resonated from outside the machine, then it grew quiet. Slowly he stood up and opened the door. Martha looked out cautiously behind him.

"I thought we were going through the blender, then." Martha gasped.

"Nah, you were never in much danger." He turned and grinned at her.

"I don't believe you." She said, laughing in relief. "That was too close." She hated to admit it but it gave her a sort of an exciting adrenaline rush. The two of them turned and saw Lazarus lying naked on the floor.

"He seems so… human again. It's kind of pitiful…" The Doctor shook his head, turning away. His heart still held a little bitterness over the Time War and Rose's incoming demise. He could not make himself feel any sort of compassion for the man who had murdered other people tonight.

He spotted Jack's form crumpled against the far wall. He walked calmly over to him. Martha saw him as well and drew in a sharp breath, rushing to his side.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, he's dead." She said after examining him. He had a huge gash on his forehead and blood ran down the side of his face. It was a brutal injury.

"Just wait." He said, placing a hand on her shoulder. After a minute, Martha's eyes grew in surprise as the wound faded and the blood dissipated. After a few more seconds Jack gasped into wakefulness, causing her to scream in shock.

"Well, hey beautiful." He grinned, but it disappeared when he saw the Doctor glaring behind her. He changed the subject. "Lazarus hit me, I spun around and cracked my head against the wall." He pointed behind him. The Doctor winced.

"How did you do that?" Martha yelled. "You just came back to life!"

"It's a lot to explain." The Doctor said. Martha turned around and gave him that look that brooked no argument. She was tired of being lied to!

"I can't die." Jack said, as if that would answer everything. Thankfully the police and paramedics arrived so the Doctor and Jack made their exit before having to answer any more questions.

* * *

"No, something's still not right." The Doctor said, clutching the energy converter they needed as they stepped outside the building. The converter was a little gold tube with clear glass protecting the inside. How the cat nuns would use it for Rose was a mystery to him. It's a good thing he remembered to sonic it off from the rest of the machine before they dismantled it and hauled it away for a more thorough examination.

"It doesn't matter now. We got what we needed." Jack replied, stretching his sore neck out.

Suddenly there was a loud crash down the road where the paramedic truck was at. The Doctor took off and Jack looked after him wearily. He sighed in resignation and chased after him. "Should have stayed with the foxes." He muttered.

When they reached the ambulance, the two of them groaned at the sight of the dried-up medics.

"Should have seen that one coming." The Doctor whispered. "Nothing's ever that easy."

"Well the Isochloric Acid wasn't that hard." Jack replied.

"Yeah, because you were erased from time for most of it." Jack stuck his tongue out in disgust. Using his sonic, he located where Lazarus was. As they were about to head off they heard footsteps behind them. It was Martha.

"No." The Doctor said adamantly. "You almost died today. You have no idea of the danger you're putting yourself in."

"You keep saying that _Doctor Spock_, or whatever your name is." She yelled. She opened her mouth to speak again but then stopped, a strange look on her face. "I...I can't explain it. Why I keep chasing after you that is. I just feel like I should. Like it's the right thing to do." Jack looked at the Doctor expectantly.

"Alright but this is it." He said finally. "To the church!"

* * *

The Doctor entered first into the cathedral. He had a scowl on his face. Too many people had died today and he wasn't going to let Lazarus kill any more, even if he had to kill him himself.

This would end tonight.

He shivered. Last time he was in a creepy old church he got eaten by a reaper. Well, on the plus side, he now knew that was the night Rose fell in love with him. He shivered again but not from the cathedral. Jack and Martha were strangely quiet, as if sensing his mood swings.

They found Lazarus sitting behind the altar in his human form wrapped in the blanket he got from the ambulance. He looked up at them as the Doctor put the sonic screwdriver back in his pocket. Slowly the Doctor began to walk up to him.

"I came here before," Lazarus told them quietly. "A lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat there, just a child… the sounds of planes and bombs outside."

"The London Blitz." The Doctor said, standing in front of him. Jack closed his eyes. That time period was only too familiar to him.

"You've read about it."

"I was there." Flashbacks of the bombs, of losing Rose, finding her and meeting Jack and Nancy, he and Rose dancing through the night...

_"Just this once, everybody lives!"_

"You're too young," Lazarus scoffed, bringing him out of his reverie.

"So are you." He replied. Lazarus laughed but then gasped in pain.

"In the morning the fires had died, and I was still alive," Lazarus continued his story. "I swore I'd never face death like that again."

"Oh stop it!" The Doctor cried. Lazarus looked up at him in shock. "Stop this madness! Your pursuit of an immortal life is going to destroy you and everyone else!"

"I changed the course of history." He replied.

"Facing death is part of being human. You can't change it, no matter how hard you want it to!" His voice was laced with bitterness. Despite his words, he knew he couldn't accept Rose's death until he himself died as well.

"No, Doctor Spock." Lazarus smiled wickedly. "Avoiding death. That's being human. It's our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fiber of being. I'm doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I've simply been more… successful." He groaned again as his body began to change. He looked up and saw the Doctor standing there with the sonic pointed in his face.

"I'm not going to let you kill any more people tonight. It ends now."

"Are you going to kill me?" Lazarus spat. "Isn't that a little hypocritical?" He cried out in pain as his bones seemed to crack.

"A longer life isn't always a better one!" The Doctor shouted, his words echoing around the cathedral. The grip on his sonic faltered and he lowered it. "Everything and everyone eventually leaves or dies. The pain of always ending up alone, it will engulf you entirely. As soon as you find a stroke of happiness it will be gone in a minute!" Martha frowned. Obviously he was speaking from his own experience.

"You're very bitter Spock. You must be older than you look to have lost so much."

"I'm not going to lose her." He raised the sonic up again. "And nothing's going to stand in my way."

"Doctor, don't!" Jack yelled and rushed forward, not wanting to watch him kill Lazarus in cold blood, but someone held him back. He turned and gasped. It was the gorgeous woman in the gold dress from the party. The Bad Wolf, and this time her eyes were completely and brilliantly gold.

Her high heels seemed to make no noise as she ascended the stairs towards Lazarus and the Doctor. She came up and placed her hand on the Doctor's arm, lowering it. Lazarus gazed at her, a look of shock on his face. She had a glow about her, her very skin as bright as the sun.

"Enough of the bloodshed Richard Lazarus, son of Theodore Lazarus." Her ethereal voice washed over him. "This vain pursuit of life will only lead to loss of it." She placed a hand on his forehead and he inhaled deeply as she drew his life energy out, returning him to his proper state of age. He fell over backwards, dead.

"Everything must come to dust. All things. Everything dies." She quoted herself. She stood up and faced the Doctor.

"Had I let him live, you could have all died."

"Thank you." The Doctor whispered, glad that the burden of taking a life wasn't put upon him. The Bad Wolf seemed to sway, as if losing her balance. The glow in her face dimmed a bit. The Doctor looked at her with concern.

"Doctor, my life energy is failing, and fast." She explained. "Like stardust and rose petals." She gave him a weak smile. "I cannot help you anymore in your search for Rose's cure." The Doctor nodded. "But I'll be able to help you one last time. You'll know when that time comes." With that she faded into nothingness.

* * *

"You guys can't just leave!" Martha shouted as the Doctor and Jack walked out of the cathedral. "I mean, who was that? She looked like an angel. What's going on, who are you?" The Doctor suddenly turned around.

"Look Martha, thank you so much for all your help today. Any other time I'd tell you who I, who _we_ are. Maybe even take you on a thank-you trip to the moon. But right now, I'm on a mission to help a friend who is in serious life-threatening danger. A woman I owe my life to and...the woman I love." He inhaled deeply. "I can't turn my back on her now. I can't explain anything more than that. You have to forget about me, about us." Martha stood still, too confused for words as the Doctor turned away. Jack threw a sympathetic look at her and followed.

"The moon, really?" Jack asked once they were out of earshot.

"That was Spock enough, right?" He replied, holding back a smile.

Martha watched as they entered into a police box standing across the street and gasped as it faded from view. It echoed with a strange yet beautiful noise that tugged on her heart and made her feel like she was missing the greatest thing of her life.

* * *

**I couldn't help the Sixth life comment, I saw it on a meme a few years back and it's always been head!canon for me xD I originally wanted to have the Doctor forget about the converter and have to chase it down wherever they hauled it away, but I figured the Doctor's been through enough by now ;)  
**

**The part with Rose is supposed to be inside her head. Her body's still at the hospital, but internally she's quickly shutting down. And of course Nine would take a different direction in killing Lazarus than Ten would. What did _you_ think he would do?  
**

**_Coming up next: One last mission to go! But it's a gamechanger, and as the end is soon in sight, the Doctor comes to a startling conclusion..._  
**

**Excuse my Gallifreyan but HOLY CRAP that snuck up on me! Only a few chapters left! *sob* you guys have made this all the more enjoyable for me! :D  
**


	29. The Ultimate Sacrifice

**Rose was voted GREATEST WOMAN OF DW EVER on the BBC Anglophenia site! Happy BadWolf is Happy! xD**

**Thank you for all the support of Martha's character! I always assumed if something in the time line had changed, all the companions would feel it. From Chiswick to London to Leadworth xD  
**

**One last DW reference in the fourth Eragon book. But I'm not saying, you have to read it yourself ;)  
**

* * *

Chapter 29 – The Ultimate Sacrifice_  
_

_Martha watched as they entered into a police box standing across the street and gasped as it faded from view. It echoed with a strange yet beautiful noise that tugged on her heart and made her feel like she was missing the greatest thing of her life._

* * *

"Okay, Jintonium, check?"

"Check." The Doctor's chin was resting on a platform that the TARDIS had extended on her console so they could evaluate all the various items they had acquired so far. Jack held the list and was reading them off one by one.

"Isochloric Acid?"

"Check." The Doctor replied, his eyes flickering towards the vial with the greenish-blue liquid.

"Water from the Stone of Alaverez?"

"Check."

"Energy Conductor based on Lazarinian Technology?"

"Check." They both said together as the Doctor placed the newest item next to the others.

"What's next?" The Doctor said, straightening up.

"Wait, let me guess." Jack said, lowering the paper. "Ash deep within the pits of Mordor! No, wait! Snow from the tallest peak in Narnia! No, wait-"

"Just read the damn list!" The Doctor said, chuckling. He felt a bit more lighthearted than usual. They were nearly there! But Jack's faced turned into a frown.

"An item that represents a reason to live?"

"What?" The Doctor snatched the paper from Jack and read it himself.

_An item that represents a reason to live_

"Hold on, there's an asterisk here." He flipped it over to read the words on the back side.

_Doctor, I cannot explain why I wrote the last item. This list just doesn't seem adequate enough to bring your Rose back, but as I was writing, I felt a soft whisper in my head, saying to write this down. I'm sorry, I cannot give you more information than that._

_ ~Nurse Faye_

The Doctor noticed another little insignia, too small to barely even notice. _BW_. Of course.

"But what does it mean, what are we supposed to get for Rose?"

"She must have left a clue." The Doctor replied, laying the paper down next to the items. "Remember everything the Bad Wolf's said to us lately." They were both quiet for a moment. The Doctor thought of the ethereal woman aging Lazarus to his proper state.

_"I'm fading Doctor, like stardust and rose petals."_

"Stardust and rose petals!" The Doctor shouted, startling Jack. "That's it!" He strode to the console. "And I know just the places to get both." He slammed a button on the console and waited until the TARDIS stopped shaking. Then the Doctor grabbed another vial. "Get the door Jack." He ordered.

Jack gasped at the beauty outside as he opened the doors. They were floating in space, in what appeared to be a blue dust cloud floating around the TARDIS. The Doctor reached his arm out as far as he could and held the vial sideways there for a few seconds. He brought it back in and smiled at the blue dust now floating in it.

"Stardust." He whispered. "The Synolan Galaxy has a festival every year celebrating this fantastic spectre." He added, looking back out into space. "Now for the rose petals." he said, walking back to the console, clutching the stardust tightly. "And only the purest and most beautiful."

* * *

"This is Paris." Jack said, recognizing the area he had spent nearly two years in.

"Parc de Bagatelle, to be exact." The Doctor said, looking around. They had stepped out of the TARDIS and into a beautiful rose garden. The colors of the magnificent flowers were just that, magnificent. Yellow, pink, white, purple, orange, even a few blue ones, and finally, the bloodest red thought possible.

The Doctor knelt in front of one of the blood-red bushes and gingerly plucked off three petals. Holding them carefully in his hand, he dropped them inside the vial with the stardust, standing up.

Then, a beautiful thing happened. A gold light appeared inside the bottle and swirled around the bright blue stardust and the blood-red rose petals, morphing them together until all the three colors were prevalent inside the vial. As the gold light dissipated a voice echoed around the Doctor and Jack's heads.

_"The red rose petals represent her pure, untouched beauty, both on the inside and the outside. The stardust represents her love for adventure and the stars..."_

* * *

The Doctor placed all five items in front of Nurse Faye and she nodded in satisfaction.

"Next time," Jack yelled to her as she departed with the items. "I suggest a prescription that can be filled out at a pharmacy!"

* * *

Finally, they were both admitted in to see Rose while they waited for the cat nuns to prepare her treatment. They both stood in front of her hospital bed, staring in horror. If the Doctor thought she had looked pale before, well she looked healthy then compared to how she looked now.

"She's as white as death." Jack whispered. Her skin was no darker than pure milk, her cheeks drawn, her eyes sunken in, and she looked like she'd lost about twenty pounds. The Doctor's hearts thudded against his chest. Nine hundred years of traveling and seeing terrible things, he had never seen anything that made him feel this hopeless.

"Her cells are so out of alignment that her body cannot possibly function for much longer." Jack seemed to notice his distress.

"Hey, we got all the items for her. It's not too late, she's gonna get better. Things can only go uphill from here." And the Doctor prayed he was right.

At that moment Nurse Faye returned with a medium-sized bowl in her hands that contained a gelatinous liquid. Every component was noticeable, from the gray flecks of the Jintonium, the greenish-blue of the Isochloric Acid, the purple of the water of Alaverez, and the sparkling blue and red of the stardust/rose petal mixture.

"In order for this to work properly," she said to them, "the formula must be applied directly on the skin." She looked expectantly at the Doctor. "Every inch of skin."

"I'll do it." He said, stepping forward and grabbing the bowl. "If I could have a moment?" He asked them both. Jack nodded and they both left the room.

The Doctor took a deep breath and set the bowl on the small table. He stuck his hands in the sticky liquid and immediately felt a peace in his heart. Surely this would help Rose, right?

He began with her forehead, brushing her hair back, moving down to her cheeks and behind her ears, his thumbs covering her nose. He ran his fingers down gently over her neck, arms and underneath her hospital gown. Once he finished down to her stomach, he lifted her up gently with one hand to cover her backside. He closed his eyes and kept his mind on the task at hand as his hands glided down Rose's legs and then finally to her feet, making sure to cover all her toes. He pulled his hands back and noticed the gel covering them. After using the sink in the corner to wash them off, he invited Jack and Nurse Faye to come back in. The Doctor looked at Rose. She was still covered the gel, giving her a strange appearance.

"Give it a minute." Nurse Faye told him. After another minute had gone by, suddenly the gel began to fade slightly, seeping into her skin and disappearing completely. Immediately her skin darkened and she looked healthy again. But something still wasn't right.

"Why isn't she waking up?" Jack demanded after a few minutes had passed by with no change.

"It's not enough to jump-start her synapses." The Doctor said sadly, moving over to her side. "Her cells have realigned but it's not enough to bring her mind back." He had nowhere to go, all hope was lost.

Then suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, a voice echoed loudly in his head. Words he had heard before, after the Bad Wolf had shown him France inside his head.

_"I'm sorry but, in order to save her, you have to make a sacrifice. So great a sacrifice."_

"I know how to save her."

* * *

"I was supposed to die for her, back on the Game Station. That's what caused this whole mess in the first place."

"Doctor, are you sure you want to do this?" Jack asked, a worried look on his face. The Doctor nodded but Nurse Faye interjected.

"Whatever you're planning to do, I cannot condone it, Rose Tyler is my patient."

"Don't you see?" The Doctor replied loudly. "She's my companion, the greatest thing to ever happen to me, and if you don't let me do this, she's going to die. Plus," He said menacingly, pulling out his sonic screwdriver. "Rassilon help me, after I find out what you cat nurses are hiding in this hospital and from the populace, I will tear this place down to nothing." If Faye's face could turn red, then it would have as she stomped out of the room.

The Doctor's face softened and he returned to Rose's side. He put a hand on her cheek and smiled sadly. Everything will soon be back to the way it should be. He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw the Bad Wolf with a grim look on her face.

"I'm ready." He told her. The Bad Wolf nodded, stepping between them and placing one hand in the Doctor's hand and the other on Rose's head. The Bad Wolf closed her eyes. The Doctor concentrated deeply, until he felt a shock of pain bolt through him. He gasped and opened his eyes in time to see golden light coming from his hand, running through the Bad Wolf's arms like a conduit and into Rose. He closed his eyes again and concentrated on every reason why he was doing this for her: her brown eyes, her smile, the feel of her skin beneath his fingers, her teasing demeanor, how she had compassion on every single creature, her laughter, her devotion, her loyalty, and her love for a bitter, scarred Time Lord and his blue box.

* * *

Then it was done. When the Doctor opened his eyes the Bad Wolf had already disappeared, and Jack stood there, a worried look on his face.

"Are you going to regenerate?" He asked him. The Doctor looked up at him and-

* * *

**Alllrriiiight...here's the deal: When I was writing this I came across a conundrum. I realised I had two ideas for the ending/last chapter, and as much as I debated it, I didn't want to trash either one. So SLY has two alternate endings! When I post next I will post both endings at the same time, each with different outcomes, depending on what the Bad Wolf just did up there ^ . You can review your favorite, or you can review both(hint) and say what you liked/disliked about the content of each. See you then!**


	30. AltEnding 1: I'll Do Whatever It Takes

**In this chapter we find out exactly why Rose's DNA started failing...**

* * *

~ALTERNATE ENDING 1~ 

"I'll Do Whatever It Takes"

_Then it was done. When the Doctor opened his eyes the Bad Wolf had already disappeared, and Jack stood there, a worried look on his face._

* * *

"Are you going to regenerate?" He asked him. The Doctor looked up at him and didn't say a word, only pain and sadness in his eyes. Suddenly he leapt up and ran into the TARDIS, stumbling along the way. Half a minute later he came back out, desperately clutching a pen and piece of paper. He collapsed back in the chair by Rose's side and began writing furiously. Jack noticed how he winced in pain numerous times.

After he finished writing, he folded up the paper and handed it to Jack.

"Give this to her immediately when she wakes up." He gasped. Jack nodded, a look of concern on his face.

"Good luck!" He shouted to the Doctor as he stumbled back into the TARDIS.

* * *

The Doctor shut the door behind him and collapsed on the grating. He angrily wiped a single tear from his cheek.

It didn't seem fair, how far he and Rose had come, only to be set back now by regenerating into that form he had grown to hate so much for hurting Rose multiple times in the alternate time line. Well, he was consoled by the fact that he knew not to go to 18th Century France, or that he should see Sarah Jane while Rose was at her mum's, and to not even step foot near Canary Wharf. As long as Rose was alright, there was nothing else he wanted.

The Doctor tried to stand up but fell miserably to the ground again. He lay there for a second, drawing in as much air as his collapsing lungs possibly could. He felt someone by his side helping him up. It was the Bad Wolf. As soon as they were upright he leaned on her and together they walked over towards the console.

"This is the last time for me." She said, looking a little paler than usual. "I will use up the rest of my life to make your regeneration as smooth as possible." She pressed a few buttons on the TARDIS and the console popped open, revealing the Time Vortex once again. Golden light streamed out and the Bad Wolf took a deep breath, gathering as much strength as she could, knowing that after this she would lose her form and return to the vortex forever.

"I am sorry." She said. "I was meddling in things I should not have."

"You were only doing what you thought was best for us." The Doctor replied. "You're making up for it now. Thank you." The Doctor whispered, his breath hitching in emotion. He would miss this northern voice.

"You're welcome." She replied simply, a sad smile on her face. The Doctor raised his hand and saw the orange glow that told he him he was ready.

"Goodbye Doctor." She came up to him, put both hands on the sides of his face and kissed him passionately. All her golden light seeped into him and together they both were shrouded in the burst of regeneration.

* * *

Jack covered his eyes as the TARDIS' windows burst into light. As soon as it had faded he noticed Rose beginning to stir.

"Hey Blondie." He whispered as her eyes slowly opened. She smiled when she recognized him but it faded as she turned her head.

"Wh-where's the Doctor?" She coughed, trying to get her voice back.

"He told me to give you this." He said, handing her the letter and a cup of water, which she drank gratefully. "He just wrote it." He hoped that the Doctor had fully explained about everything that had just happened; he didn't relish doing it himself.

Rose looked at him oddly as she unfolded the letter. Jack watched her face as it changed in emotions. From confusion, to shock, sadness, to hope and regret. Finally she threw the letter down and struggled to get out of her hospital bed. Jack quickly stood up and helped her out. She nearly collapsed to the floor but he held her as she gained her balance back.

"Wait, change into your clothes." He handed her a bundle sitting by the hospital bed. "Make this moment special." Rose nodded. As soon as she changed and entered the TARDIS Jack bent over and retrieved the letter from the floor, more than curious to see what the Doctor's last words were.

* * *

_My dear Rose:_

_ I have so much to say and so little time to do it in, but I will do my best to explain everything that's happened._

_ It's all probably still fuzzy to you, but remember back on the Game Station when you absorbed the Bad Wolf? By doing so you created an entity of its' own. A once powerful being whose powers were failing beyond repair due to what she was trying to do. I'll explain that later._

_ She showed me an alternate time line of us in which I drew the Bad Wolf out of you instead, causing me to regenerate. Remember when I told you about regeneration back on __Vasi-Anidad_ with the shape-shifting creatures? It's when my body dies and rewrites my DNA to create a new me, if you don't recall.

_ But in this other universe I hadn't take you to __Vasi-Anidad_ yet and you were unaware of regeneration, causing you to take my sudden death very hard. This new me also thought you could be more independent and not need my help, causing him to abandon you on your own more than once.

_ We also lost each other many times, until ultimately I left you in a parallel universe with a clone of myself, and I was forced to live the rest of my life without you. _

_ I can't bear to see that happen, I won't let it. Hopefully with this knowledge we can prevent all those things from happening._

_ Also...after the other me regenerated, we lost the closeness that we experienced from Paris and onwards. We drifted apart due to the mistrust regarding my regeneration. By the time we started to make progress again it was already too late._

_ I tell you all this because of what I've done to restore your health. Your DNA was failing, your cells coming out of alignment, and I figured out why._

_ Because you absorbed her, the Bad Wolf entity never fully left you. She stayed inside you and tried to change your DNA and make you something you're not. I gave up this regeneration and healed you back to normal, ironically with the Bad Wolf's help, who realized she wasn't strong enough to do what she planned._

_ But by doing so I've given up this life. Now don't blame yourself, it was always supposed to happen this way._

_ Be careful of the new me. I know he'll still love you, but I can't guarantee that he won't break your heart. But give him a chance, he'll still have all the memories we made together._

_ No matter what happens, no matter what he does to you, know that I will always love you._

_ The new me is waiting for you in the TARDIS._

_ -Your Doctor_

_A strangled smile fell from your face  
It kills me that I hurt you this way.  
The worst part is that I didn't even know.  
Now there's a million reasons for you to go,  
But if you can find a reason to stay..._

_I'll do whatever it takes_  
_To turn this around_.  
_I know what's at stake_,  
_I know I've let you down_.  
_And if you give me a chance_  
_and believe that I can change_.  
_I'll keep us together whatever it takes._

___But remember the time I told you the way that I felt?  
That I'd be lost without you and never find myself.  
Let's hold onto each other above everything else.  
Start over, start over..._

_~Lifehouse_

Rose opened the door slowly. She was filled with mixed emotions. Mostly regret at the death of her Doctor by her hand, but grateful that she was at least prepared for this moment. She noticed his beloved leather jacket in a heap on the floor and frowned. She shut the door behind her and moved forward warily.

"Doctor?" She called out unsteadily. It was quiet for a few seconds with no answer, but Rose heard shuffling from somewhere behind the console, hidden from her view.

"I...I'm here." He coughed a bit, obviously not used to his new voice yet. Rose came up closer but decided to wait for him to reveal himself. After another few moments with nothing happening she called out again softly.

"Can I see you?"

"Are you sure?" He replied back, fear in his voice. Rose gulped nervously.

"Yeah. I'm sure." Then he stepped slowly out into her view. Rose gasped. She never imagined him to look this different.

He still wore his green jumper, black pants and boots (although this new Doctor no longer had the muscles to fill them out like before, he was a leaner man Rose noticed). But his previously short hair was now brown, thick and wild, his once blue eyes were now a sparkling brown, and she hated to admit it, but he wasn't that bad looking.

He had a slightly sick and nervous look on his face, obviously waiting for her reaction.

"Y-You look good." She stuttered, finally finding her voice. His face held a shadow of a smile.

"Really?" His voice was filled with hope.

"Yeah." She replied, coming closer to him. "All those memories, you still remember?" He nodded.

"Paris, love potion, everything." Suddenly Rose threw her arms around him.

"Thank you." She said, nearly on the verge of tears. "I'm so glad you didn't die for good." The Doctor didn't reply, he only held her closer. "What do we do now?" She whispered, as if afraid of the answer. He let her go but held her in his arms to look into her face.

"It's up to you." He said. "I'm the one that's changed, not you." Rose suddenly let go of him and stepped back, shaking her head as it all dawned on her. He was so different, she would never see the one she fell in love with again.

"This...this is just too much. I-" She looked up at him. "I fell in love with him. His mannerisms, his sarcasm, and yes, his looks as well. He was my constant in a life of danger. I-I know you're the same man, but I'm a human, it's how my mind works. I feel..." She began crying. "I feel like I'm betraying him, even though I'm not. It's like falling in love with another bloke immediately after the funeral. This is just too much to ask." Tears fell from her eyes and onto the TARDIS floor. Her heart ached with sorrow over her Doctor.

This new Doctor looked crushed. This was exactly what he feared most, but honestly he couldn't see her reacting any other way. If she was a Time Lady and the one who had regenerated it would have been very different, given his studies in Time Lord Regeneration grieving rituals. Rose had none of that under her belt, and he thought she was doing quite well considerably.

"All right." He said, turning his head away. "We'll take it slow."

"I-I'm so sorry Doctor." Rose said.

"Me too." He replied.

"...Did it hurt?" The Doctor knew what she was referring to.

"Yeah," He said, turning away slightly. "But the Bad Wolf stopped the neural implosion I would have suffered if she wasn't there." Rose nodded, still confused but not wanting to ask him about it. They were both quiet for a moment. Then suddenly the Doctor shouted energetically startling Rose; it wasn't something she was used to.

"Back to the beginning then! Rose Tyler, I won you over once and I will do it again. Well," He cocked his head, "this time it will be much easier." He waggled his eyebrows in demonstration, and Rose felt her heart melting into a puddle. But he was right, maybe starting over was the safest option.

She grinned, thankful that their friendship hadn't dissolved as well. So what if it would take them a while to get their intimacy back? At least they were going to do what they loved best, adventuring.

"The beginning huh?" She asked him. "What does that consist of?"

"The usual." The Doctor replied, winking cheekily. "New planet, adventure, danger, lives to save. Y'know, that sort of thing."

"Average day in the life with the Doctor?" He beamed ecstatically at her statement. "Got any ideas?" She looked at him strangely. Usually by now he was flying around the console preparing a destination. Instead he just stood there, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Without looking, he reached behind him and pressed a button on the console. The front doors swung open and Rose realized they still hadn't moved as she looked out and saw Jack waiting patiently for them by her hospital bed.

"New alien planet? Check. A hospital with advanced healing remedies way beyond its' time? Check. And," He walked over and stood by her side. "It's gonna be..." He grabbed her hand, his sparkling brown eyes different but ever still the same. _"...fantastic."_

Rose smiled at him and together they walked out of the TARDIS and into their new life together.

_"Start over, start over..."_

* * *

***SNIFF* Onto the the other alternate ending...! (Tell me what you think!)**

**The theme song for the story before was Comatose by Skillet, for this chapter it's Whatever It Takes by Lifehouse  
**


	31. AltEnding 2: Always

~ALTERNATE ENDING 2~ 

"Always"

_Then it was done. When the Doctor opened his eyes the Bad Wolf had already disappeared, and Jack stood there, a worried look on his face._

* * *

"Are you going to regenerate?" He asked him. The Doctor looked up at him and grinned. "No." He laughed. "I gave her one of my lives, but there was no need to give this one up, especially after how far Rose and I got." He shook his hand and a few leftover golden particles fell from it.

He looked down at Rose and grinned, remembering everything that wasn't supposed to happen, but did because of her sacrifice for him back on the Game Station. Meeting Hitler, the shopping center, the Love Potion, Paris, finding Jack, defeating the Josnians, dinner in the TARDIS, Barcelona, and finally the arduous journey to make it here where their love could only continue to grow.

Filled with an immense love for her, the Doctor leaned over and kissed her, not paying attention to Jack's proud look. He felt Rose move underneath his lips and grinned as he pulled back.

"Fantastic!" He said as her eyes fluttered open. It had been so long since he had seen those brown eyes gazing his way. Immediately she grinned, and the Doctor felt like everything was finally right in the universe again.

"Hey." She said, her voice a bit raspy. The Doctor leaned over and handed her a glass of water. She drank it quickly.

"Hey yourself." The Doctor stroked the side of her face after she handed her cup back to him. She closed her eyes, leaning into his hand.

"You saved me." She whispered. It was not a question.

"I always will, Rose Tyler." She suddenly opened her eyes.

"Why? Why am I so important to you? I'm just a lowly human."

"Because...I love you." Rose stopped. She didn't think she heard him right.

"What?" The Doctor grinned. He was finally able to say it after so many months of hesitation.

"I love you." He repeated. Rose's eyes grew teary and she threw her arms around him.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear you say that."

"Oh, I think I just might." He felt something strange and let go of her.

"What are you doing?" She asked as he placed his hands on both sides of her chest.

"Just checking something." He replied. "Breathe in deep." She did as she was told and he smiled in satisfaction. "Two hearts. The Bad Wolf did it. She changed you into a Time Lady."

"T-Time Lady?" Rose stuttered, her eyes widening in shock. "Like you?" The Doctor nodded.

"If she was completely successful, your IQ should increase and your senses will develop even more such as hearing and tasting, not to mention with those two hearts you'll have more energy." Rose took another deep breath to demonstrate. She laughed.

"Perfect for running." She grinned at him.

"Hey, that's great!" Jack interjected, who had been completely forgotten by the pair. "Now you two can rebuild Gallifrey and have lots of Time Lord babies running around the TARDIS!" Rose blushed deeply and the Doctor turned his head away, clearly embarrassed.

"Oh come off it you two!" Jack threw his hands up in the air in frustration and they all laughed. _But hey, it wasn't a bad idea._

* * *

"Oh I missed this place!" Rose yelled excitedly as she and the Doctor strode into the TARDIS hand in hand. "How long was I unconscious again?"

"A few weeks." The Doctor replied, gripping her hand tighter. It would take more than a million armies to remove his hand from hers. Good thing Jack was still talking with the officials at the hospital so he couldn't spoil their moment, however much of a help he had been uncovering the flesh the cat nuns had created and abused. Rose loved Jack at times but he had a bad habit of spoiling their moments alone.

"And how many trips did you make to find the items for me?" She already knew the answer, but she loved hearing it from him anyway.

"Well, in order to save you, I was captured by Daleks, saved Jack from being erased from time, became a fox (speaking of which, I foresee a visit to Kitariah 3 in the very near future), discussed T.S. Eliot with Sir Richard Lazarus, flew through a star field, visited a garden in France and delved deep inside your mind." He tapped her forehead. "If you don't mind I'm done with adventuring, at least for today."

"I don't mind." She replied. "I've got lifetimes to travel with you now." They both grinned in pure joy. Suddenly Rose gasped.

"What?" The Doctor asked her.

"Your anniversary gift I got on Melodroria! I was out for it wasn't I?"

"Well, you were starting to."

"Stay right here, I'll get it." She ran deeper into the TARDIS towards her room. The Doctor stood patiently, rocking on his heels for a few minutes. Finally she came out.

"I know it's not much, but you're so hard to buy for." She held out her hand and the Doctor looked at it in awe. It was a little golden pin in the shape of a banana.

"Fantastic." He said quietly.

"Here." Rose said, coming up to him. "You can put it on your jumper if you don't want to get holes in your jacket." She pinned it on his green jumper, just under the flap of his jacket. "There." She smiled but didn't move away.

"Thank you Rose Tyler." He leaned over and placed a small kiss on her lips. She hummed in satisfaction.

"I got something for you too." He said as they pulled away. Rose looked surprised.

"Really?"

"Yeah on Melodroria. You didn't think I actually busted an alien drug ring did you?"

"Now that I think about it it did sound a little made-up. You're not the best liar."

"Oi! Do you want your present or not?" Rose nodded and the Doctor stuck his hand inside his bigger-on-the-inside jacket pocket. His face twisted in concentration as his arm went further and further inside. After thirty seconds of searching his eyes lit up and he pulled his arm out holding a blue leather jacket in a woman's design, with ridges along the bottom as well as two zipper pockets and a third one on the chest. Rose gasped in utter delight as she threw it on. It fit perfectly.

"I thought it'd be kind of corny to get you one exactly like mine." The Doctor said. "But when I saw this one, I...I knew it was yours. As if you were made to wear it. A surviving warrior, like me." He thought it was a rather...legendary defeat she had against the DNA changes in her body. "And look," He said, grabbing near the zipper and pulling it open. "Its' temperature is regulated on the inside. No matter what weather it is outside you'll be comfortable." Rose's eyes grew wider.

"No wonder it took me so long to get you out of your leather jacket and into your suit before we went to Paris." She said, giggling.

"Most of my clothes have regulated temperatures, but not the suit. I didn't fancy spending our first date shivering in the rain."

"But Time Lords don't shiver, right? Superior genes and all that." She winked at him.

"Not anymore." He grinned.

"It's...it's wonderful." She said, her eyes filling with tears.

"What, what is it?" The Doctor said, grabbing her arm and bringing her closer.

"Nothing, it's just...it's perfect." She grinned through her tears as the Doctor embraced her. "I couldn't have asked for a better life. I was once an ordinary human, but now that I can be with you forever, I'll never need anything again."

"Me neither." He replied, releasing her and holding her hand. "No matter what comes, we'll face this life together."

"Together?"

"Always." With a goofy grin on his face, he looked up at the TARDIS ceiling and nodded. The console made a strange 'click' sound and the Doctor began speaking in another language, which sounded like: "Dahjajh ghah a cac jajh daq yhin!" _Today is a good day to live! _Rose gasped in total shock.

"You_ do_ speak Klingon!" She cried, remembering that night in Paris she accused him of being a liar on the subject.

"You'll find I'm full of many secrets, Rose Tyler."

* * *

_That night..._

The Doctor sat at the kitchen in the TARDIS, sipping a cup of tea in pensive thought. With Jack away in his room and Rose sound asleep in hers it gave the Doctor a chance to think.

He was more than grateful to have a second chance with Rose, but the time would come eventually when he would have to regenerate into that next Lady Killer form of his, but at least this time he was aware so he would be sure to treat Rose the way she deserved to be.

He grinned, sensing another Time Lord presence in the room. It had been lifetimes since he felt something like that.

He turned around to see Rose watching him with a smirk on her face, wearing the blue leather jacket he had given her earlier that day, noticing that it failed to cover her sheer pink nightgown that just barely reached her knees. In one elegant move she shed the coat and set it on a chair nearby. The Doctor eyed her hungrily.

"Turns out I'm ready now Doctor." She grinned, and the Doctor remembered her previous hesitation over the Jimmy Stone debacle. Rose raised a finger and motioned for him to come to her. He didn't move, he just stared at her unabashed beauty dumbly.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Time Lord?" She winked mischievously at him and bolted out of the kitchen and towards the Doctor's bedroom, giggling the whole way.

Uttering a primal growl of pleasure low in his throat, the Doctor grinned wolfishly and took off after her.

_"You're never gonna be alone_  
_ From this moment on,  
if you ever feel like letting go,_  
_ I won't let you fall._  
_ When all hope is gone,  
I know that you can carry on._  
_ We're gonna see the world out,_  
_ I'll hold you 'til the hurt is gone._

_ I'm gonna be there always,_  
_ I won't be missing one more day,_  
_ I'm gonna be there always,_  
_ I won't be missing one more day."  
~Nickelback  
_

* * *

And thus ends this story of how a certain human gave up everything for the one she loved, and how a certain Time Lord went on an incredible journey to save her, thus fulfilling their love.

_~The End~_

* * *

**And there you have it! Tell me what you like/dislike about both endings :) This will probably be the last story I'll publish for a while, so feel free to check out my other stories :) THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT_  
_**

**~KH~**


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